Crooks using new ‘moles in banks’ scare tactic

 

JOHOR BARU: Scammers are using a new scare tactic, telling their victims that the money in the bank is not safe due to purported “moles” within the banking sector.

A 50-year-old woman from Kulai was recently duped after receiving a call from a man claiming that he was a Bank Negara officer, said Johor MCA public complaints and service bureau chief Chua Jian Boon.

“In three hours, the woman, who works in the private sector, ended up transferring about RM100,000 of her hard-earned savings into the bank accounts of strangers,” he said in an interview.

Chua said the woman received the call when she was home alone on Nov 11.

“The caller asked whether there was anyone beside her as he wanted to share with her an insider secret. She was led to believe that her savings were at risk as her bank accounts were being targeted by scammers via moles working at the banks.

“The caller also convinced her to visit four banks to cash out her fixed deposit savings, withdraw her savings and obtain advance cash from her credit cards,” he said, adding that throughout the whole process, the woman never hung up the phone call.

“The caller apparently guided her throughout the process. She was told to put her mobile phone in her bag – with the caller still on the line – as she dealt with the bank counter staff,” Chua said.

He said the woman was worried that if she did not follow the steps given by the caller, the “moles” working at the banks would be alerted and that she would lose her money.

“She thought she was transferring her savings to other people’s bank accounts for temporary safekeeping,” he said.

After returning home that night, the woman did not dare to tell anyone about what had happened, not even her family members.

It was only after her daughter noticed her restlessness that she finally told them about the whole incident.

By then, it was too late as the transactions had already been done, Chua said.

“The family checked with the banks but nothing much could be done as the transactions were performed by the woman voluntarily,” he said.

He said the woman had lodged two police reports, adding that he had also advised her to file a complaint to the National Scam Response Centre.

Chua said it was the first case received by the bureau involving such tactics.

“We usually get complaints about scammers claiming that the victims’ bank accounts were used in money laundering activities but the ‘mole factor’ was a first.”

He reminded the people not to pick up calls from unknown numbers.

Chua also encouraged the public to use the Semak Mule portal to verify if bank accounts, phone numbers and shell companies are linked to scammers. - Star