A few years ago, I shared a little story about being a victim of a scam and I asked if you were ever caught by one. I also talked once about not disclosing personal information over the phone to someone purporting to be from the bank. Well, as is wont to happen with scams, there is a cyclical nature to them and I have just almost come close to being a victim of one.
I wanted to share my experience of what has turned out to be a popular phone scam locally, so if it happens to you, or someone you know, you will be aware that is a scam and what you should be doing, as opposed to what you should do following a voice over a phone.
If this has happened to you, do share your story if you are comfortable doing so, and what you have done about it.
Yesterday, I received a phone call from +100 with a voice recording telling me I owe TM (our local telecom operator) a large sum in outstanding Unifi bills (internet). The instruction told me I should press 9 to speak to someone, which I did, because I was at work, a little distracted, and wanted to know what it was all about. I do have a Unifi account so I wanted to know if something was wrong with it.
Ladies and gents, this is where the scam starts. So, if you do receive a call of this nature, just hang up immediately. Don’t bother listening.
The person who came on the phone spoke in a very garbled Malay-English hybrid and the connection was poor. Half the time I couldn’t hear what he was talking about. He confirmed my full name (which was very unusual) and asked for my NRIC number which on hindsight, I should not have given (time to re-read my blog!) but what’s done is done. He said I had over RM3,000 outstanding which was ridiculous.
So, I asked for details and I was told that there was a VIP20 Unifi account opened by me at an address at Puchong, at 101 Mall Puchong some time in November 2012. I said, “Hang on, that can’t be right. I don’t live in Puchong and I’ve never even been there!”
I happened to know that a VIP20 account is RM249 a month so there was no way an account opened in November 2012 could rack up a bill that high. My spidey senses were tingling at this point, so I pulled up my Unifi account online and waited for more confirmation.
When pressed, I was given an account number of 1105879322 which I later confirmed to be fake and non existent. Here’s the clincher.
I was told that the account was opened in my name using an MBf Mastercard. I was more concerned about the fact that my information had been stolen so I again said it wasn’t possible.
What got my hackles up and eventually caused me to twig that something was wrong, was the fact that the caller kept talking about this credit card and that I could complain to the Central Bank (Bank Negara Malaysia) if I didn’t own such an account. I said I was prepared to lodge a police report, if necessary but when he kept on pressing on about the credit card, I blew my top.
I told the caller that since he was calling from TM (which he said he was) I didn’t see what he had to care so much for my credit card when I could sort that part out myself. I just wanted to know what it was TM was going to do about it! Then the line went dead. I was quite puzzled at this point, so I called the official customer hotline number (1-300-88-1221) and spoke to a customer service agent about it who confirmed it was a scam and that I only had 1 account with them and the account number I gave her was a fake.
Based on this little episode and anecdote, there are a few things you should bear in mind if you ever receive a call like this:-
- The recording telling you that you have a large outstanding amount of over RM3k is made by someone with very poor Malay pronounciation. From experience, most recordings on TM or Unifi hotlines are made in fluent Malay or English
- The person who purports to be from TM who comes on the line should you proceed speaks English and Malay poorly. The guy talking to me was speaking in half and half and when I got angry and lambasted him in Malay, he switched back to his poor English which I found rather odd.
- The scammers aren’t all that interested in your personal details, what they really want is for you to call the Central Bank for which they’ll give you a number so they’ll keep pushing you to call to make a report. This is where the scam really happens so don’t let it get this far!
- The scammers aren’t interested in your Unifi details. They have a host of fake accounts and addresses they can give you quite willingly.
- The quality of the phone line is abysmal and noisy.
I looked up this Unifi/TM scam online and found out that what happens after that is when you call the number given by them purportedly of the Central Bank, it will be a fake person who will direct you to go to an ATM to sort out the matter to avoid you being blacklisted. Then, they will make you perform some bank transfers from your bank account and the scam is then complete.
I believe that there are many ways they can twist this around with the same result. Many people are afraid of having their credit rating affected or being blacklisted by banks so it might be why people will take notice.
My advise is this:-
- If you receive a call about large outstanding sums owing to anyone or any utility company, hang up immediately. Then, call back the official hotline at your leisure (never hit the redial button) to verify if its true that there is an outstanding account. If indeed such a large sum is owing, believe you me, you’d have your service cut off already.
- If you receive a call telling you someone used a credit card you do not own, don’t panic. Take down the card number and then lodge a police report.
- If a caller calls you and asks for personal information, do not give it out.
- Never call any number given to you by an unknown caller. Instead, look up the official number for the Central Bank (www.bnm.gov.my) and call that number.
- Above all, do not panic or offer to make any payment. Focus on the issue at hand. If they call from a utility company, they don’t care how you make payment. I’ve had calls about late payment and they don’t care how you do it so long as payment is made. No utility company will ever care about what happens to your bank account.
- No utility company will call you settle your outstanding bills. From experience, they just cut off the service so this is a clear warning sign
I am thankful I didn’t give out too much information although I do feel stupid for giving out some. But we learn from our mistakes. The most important thing I am thankful for is for having a short fuse and for blowing my top at the caller to tell him to stick to the point of my TM account and not care how I deal with a rogue credit card. That was the clincher that made them cut off the line 🙂
Have you or anyone you know ever received a similar call for a similar scam?
After I related my story on Twitter, a few friends told me of similar things happening to people they know. Its been going on for a while it seems, but I’d never come across it before. So, I know we usually talk about beauty on this blog but I wanted to take the opportunity to inform and share as well so do excuse the slight digression. I hope none of you or anyone you know has lost money and been a victim of this or a similar scam. Please share so more of us are educated about this.
Paris B
Thank you for the post. I will be careful if ever I received such phone call. On the other hand, I am glad that you didn’t lose anything, re $.
You’re welcome Angelina and honestly, the day anyone calls and says you owe some company money, just hang up. If they want it that badly, they can call back or send a letter 😉 I’m glad I got so mad they hung up on me 😀
If I am not mistaken, if you have outstanding payment (be it telco, utilities or Internet), the customer service won’t be calling you. Your service will be suspended automatically. I hope nobody falls for their scam.
Yep! You’ll pick up the phone and find its gone dead lol! Sometimes I get reminders or text reminders but they never care what bank you use, so long as payment is made, and they don’t even tell you how Lol!
Such a shame what the world has became these days. Why can’t people work and earn decent $. Must remind self to only answer phone calls from known sources. And I always avoid those +country code number cos its always from other countries they made the scam calls. Lately on the news, I saw that one can scan ur credit card details by tapping their hand phone (with app) against ur handbags n they will make purchases using ur credit cards. Experts said to counter this…..wrap credit cards in aluminum foil. Lol.
I know, Esther. The worst part is that these people prey on the everyday person who is working so hard to earn our keep, not that we’re rolling in riches! I usually avoid all numbers I don’t recognise on caller ID and I never ever call back a number I don’t recognise because half the time, I expect to be harrassed by a telemarketeer! I haven’t heard about people being able to scan your cards, but I have heard there are gadgets that allow you too – have actually seen it on CSI or something – what you can learn from TV eh?
Good post!
Yes…there were already few loopholes from the conversation:
1. Legit center agents never speak in half half…they have been trained to speak in a professional manner, so its either BM or english or mandarin 😛
2. Even other services (banks/mobile telcos) don’t call if you have outstanding, they will usually send SMS and suspend your services.
I think most people panic upon receiving calls to tell them that they owe someone money, it’s just human nature, esp when most people have TM line at home, therefore it’s so easy to fall into their trap 🙁
Unfortunately, it’s also difficult to stop all these scams and no amount of awareness campaign will be enough for the public.
You’re right. Its the panic button they press that catches people unawares. Its so sick 🙁 But I hope that if people read this they will be more aware because if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. The only good thing is it never got far enough for them to take my money!
I’ve several friends who got such cases via phone or online.
For online usually they forward to me to check. Since I’m their “IT guy” LOL.
For phone, usually I know how to identify because I joined those “Hack/Scam” or “Safety Community Site at KL/PJ” so they will send those alerts & etc. to me.
I wouldn’t trust the phone number on screen because it can be hacked/tampered with. Thus what’s on the screen on any electronic devise – PC or mobile is a “mock visual display”; behind it is controlled/leads to another telephone line.
So the keyword is anything “BN, Banks, Creditcards, Redemption Cards,Insurance,Win” – have to be extra careful with it.
Usually I will tell my friends/family that they will call back later because in a meeting.
So this will give them time to directly call their agent; be it the bank/service provider directly to their Hotline or Toll Free Number (TFN)
Many people are not aware that TFN is Free. Toll-free numbers allow callers to reach businesses and/or individuals without being charged for the call. Thus the call is paid by the called party (the toll-free subscriber) instead of the calling party
Nowadays it’s easy to get a person’s name/IC/house address with all those social media contest going on.
Ah how useful having a to-go IT person 😀 You’re actually right about caller IDs being easily faked. Watched too much crime TV to realise this 🙂 I think I’ll take your advise next time it happens to me and just hang up, or tell them to call me back later. Quite often I get people calling me to sell me insurance under the guise of calling from a bank which isn’t a scam, but pisses me off a lot!
Hot damn! That’s a great tip, to call the official hotline and confirm any issues rather than continue speaking with the person on the phone. In Australia, we often get Blocked calls from people/companies who don’t disclose their phone numbers (even Tim’s workplace does not disclose their phone numbers). I often find that dodgy (what is there to hide?) and am wary of calls from such numbers. I shall keep this important tip in mind that if I were to receive any such calls, I’ll hang up and just call the hotline to confirm (another good idea on not to hit redial). If it was a legit call, it shouldn’t matter to them because I’m the one paying for the call anyway.
Yup! I realised it belatedly that TM never calls, they just cut off my line. Happened to me more than once LOL! But I don’t know what I was thinking. Xin said maybe I kena black magic over the phone 😛 Oh and I hate blocked or private numbers too. I am always highly suspicious of calls that come from a private number and quite often, my suspicions are justified. So these days, I don’t take those calls anymore. I figure if its important enough, they can jolly well get me at an alternative number, or just send me a letter 😛
About 3 years ago I nearly became a victim of a similar scam. I received a call from AmBank saying that my credit card has been used to purchase RM5k worth of jewellery at Putrajaya. I got stressed and scared at the same time and immediately wanted it settled ASAP. So this guy said he will transfer me to the Bank Negara credit card fraud department. The so called guy in charged of my case at Bank Negara kept on asking me for my bank account details, cc details n even fixed deposits. Being a poor student at the time I had very little money. So after telling him the meagre amount I have he seemed to get frustrated as though I was lying to him. He kept asking if I had money anywhere else.
He then tells me that another colleague from another department will call me back within 15mins to help me settle my problem. After I hang up I called back the same AmBank customer service number. I get through to the real AmBank and I was told that it’s a scam and many ppl have fallen for it. The M.O is asking the victim to go to an atm, transfer the money to a “safe” account. Once everything is settled the money will be transferred back to u. never going to happen. In my case, the colleague never called me back, probably because I had so little in the bank at the time.
But the next day I went to make a police report and close the bank accounts whose info I disclosed to them, just in case.
I think it’s probably the same group of scammers here. The guy’s Malay was horrible and had a very strong Cina accent but he delivered his lines with perfect grammar which indicates he was reading from a script. Couldn’t speak English and when I suggested we converse in Mandarin or Cantonese he insisted on speaking Malay as it’s Bank Negara policy.
IIRC, during the 1st call they had my name n NRIC no already. I got this strong feeling my personal info was sold to these scammers.
Gosh Thanks for sharing your story! You see, they hit us at our most vulnerable spot – credit rating and owing money. I’m glad no money was actually lost and I am not surprised our details are sold one way or another. The key thing is to be vigilant and to not just blindly follow instructions or requests to transfer money.
You know what? I was a victim of this exact same scam and I fell for it. I was the kind who never entertain anything or offers through phone. I will always immediately turn them down. But I dont know what happened on that day, I layan-ed them. The modus operandi was exactly the same.
Me falling for their scam I think was contributed to the fact that that day I was so caught up with too many things and I was doing my work which my boss was pushing me WHILE talking to them. SoI got really distracted. To cut the story short, my mind was so serabut that that, I want to settle my workd, this “unifi account”, block my card which in the end, that person directed me to go to an ATM machine to “reset and block” my card which actually that person directing me to transfer money. After the transaction, the person asked me to tear and throw away the receipt which I did not. When I found our and realized later, it was too late. The money has been transfered and withdrawn immediately.
I’ve made reports, went to the bank but the feedback was very frustrating. They knew about this but seems to refuse to take action because it would be a ‘lost’ to them. The money I lost was equivalent to one month’s pay. Of course I was upset and sad for days but somehow relieved that it was not my life saving that was transfered.
Seeing this post today make it clear that the police and bank have not done anything to this issue which is really upsetting.
Oh dear, I’m so sorry to hear you got scammed Noor! 🙁 When I looked it up online, there were so many people who have been affected but it seems like its almost impossible to trace or for anyone to be caught and held accountable. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Hopefully with us all sharing our experiences, people will be more aware and less gullible or afraid. Ultimately, what we should be doing is just hanging up on the callers. This will be the best deterrent.
Thanks for sharing with us, PB! It’s very informative.
You’re welcome, Nani! Better to be warned than sorry!
Thank goodness no money was lost! Thanks for sharing this Paris…. 🙂 somehow I never answer calls from unknown numbers…. Pros and cons to it, but thats another story…. Haha…. My mom once received a phone call scam many years back, i watch how she played along with the scammer, listening to their explanation on how my mom ‘won’ a jackpot and in the end no money was transfered to them…. They were trolled…. Xb
Yep, it never got that far although if there was money talk, I would have been very suspicious. When I told the guy to shut up about the bank and focus on TM that’s when they hung up. Probably thought they had just wasted 10 minutes of their time with me when they could have been scamming someone else! LOL!
Paris! Time without commenting but now I have free time and this topic is important.
Well in Mexico with all the problems of insecurity, unfortunately scam it’s common; there are the ones telling you about you have won money, the ones that tell you that one relative had been kidnaped, but the one that more impresses me is when they are telling you that they are relatives in the US needing your help because they are returning to Mexico.
One recommendation is when you are getting a scam about relatives is to change their names, if it is a real situation they won’t get confused after this but in a scam they won’t know what to do.
Hope no one need to use this idea.
Hi Efrain! I have heard about safety issues in Mexico so better stay safe! I have actually received fake emails from hacked email accounts telling me that someone is stranded overseas and needs me to wire them money, but I know better than to do that. But still, it can happen. But to receive a call that family is kidnapped is just sick! Naturally people will be worried! Ugh! There is a special place in hell reserved for these scummers 🙁 Stay Safe!
We have to extra careful, be suspicious of unknown phone calls, stay cool and just be smart. It’s amazing how some people still fall for it, giving out personal information and pin numbers. That’s erm, not very smart, for the better of a word.
Yep, keeping eyes and ears open and alert is very important. Still, I suppose most of us would be worried at the thought of owing money or at having our personal info compromised one way or another. So it could sometimes be a lapse in our guard that could make the difference between being scammed or otherwise. Having been scammed before, sometimes you just don’t know why it happens. Almost as if you’ve been drugged. weird.
this is a very informative read!
the last time this happened to me…i just listened for a good 5 mins and then told the caller that I will report the caller to the police…and the caller hung up! weeee…..
Revenge is sweet!
Hi Lea, good on you! I actually told the caller I’d lodge a report but he kept directing me to BNM which is when I really blew my top and yelled at him LOL I think he was as shocked as I was 😀
Thats horrible. In France we get calls and then the record tells you that you won something… I always hang up fast!
Wise move, Catherine! I’ll have to bear this in mind if I ever get someone telling me I win something. So far its just emails telling me I’ve won millions in some lottery. I wish eh?
Good one. I never pick up calls from unknown numbers, even if it starts with 6 (SG land lines start with 6), much less those weird numbers starting with 0, and goodness knows what.
But this world is very unsafe nowadays. I actually fell to an online FB scam. Couple of hundreds. A pinch. But am thankful I am fine, and our police caught the person some weeks later. Justice done.
Good practice Jyoan. I usually don’t pick up unknown numbers either but that would also mean I’ll never be able to function heh… But yeah, when I see foreign numbers or provate numbers I usually just ignore. I’m sorry to hear you were caught by a scam. Is the worst feeling ever isn’t it? We always think we should realise it but we just never do 🙁 thankfully it wasn’t too much money and the guy got caught. I don’t suppose you got any money back?
Be careful! Scammers are getting better these days. My friend got scammed of her money when she applied for a legitimate credit card and opened a legitimate bank account, but subsequently a scammer pretended to to be from the bank and couriered a fake checkbook to her house. I’m not too sure about the details, but he managed to get her signature. She told me that the hotline provided by the scammer also seemed very legit – it had an automated system that tells you to press 1, 2, 3 etc for various services. Scary.
Hi Fiona, thank you for sharing about your friend’s situation! I can’t believe that happened to her. It must have been an inside job 🙁 I hope she didn’t lose a lot of money
Well, I have somewhat a similar experience 3 years ago. I received a lot of miscalled from the same number for a few days. My phone was constantly on silent mode, so it happened. But one day, while I was at work and I just happen to have my phone in my hand, the number called again.
A guy was on the other line and said he was from CIMB. I thought it was legit enough because I do have an active account with CIMB. He started to promote something that I’m not at all interested in. To wrap up his promo talk, he said all he need was my account number. At that point I just want to laugh out loud. Casually I said, “If you’re really from CIMB bank, you should have that information already.” He kept quiet after that and I ended the call. Never heard from anyone claiming he/she from “CIMB” since.
Hi Hani, thank you for sharing your experience with us! Its so important to us to be aware of what’s going on. There are so many different scams out there, its so hard to keep track but we can all so our part to make more people aware of them. When I get a call from a bank, unless its to confirm a transaction I’ve done, I usually just tell them I’m busy and ring off 🙂
Phew! Good thing you didn’t fall prey to their tricks! Thanks for the post… always a good reminder for us to be a little more careful, what with scammers and con men everywhere.
Yep, so many of these scam jobs going on that its mind boggling! Must be wary!
I wish I read this earlier..I received this call about 3-4 months ago and I stupidly hit the redial button to verify 🙁 .I later cut off the call because the reception was so bad. I hope nothing bad happens. Still keeping fingers crossed.Gonna share this post to others to be more aware. Thanks for this!
May I know if you gave them your add? After they asked about my bank details, they asked for a mailing add and I did. I feel so stupid and am so worried now. I lodged a police report 🙁 but still so worried if they’ll come for me.
No I didn’t. I don’t think they’d go after you. What they want is your money but lodging a police report was probably the best thing to do.