KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz has reminded the public to be more alert, not easily panic and check before making any financial transactions to avoid being a victim of an online scam.
He said there have recently been several cases of people being swindled huge sums of money, including a teacher who lost RM112,000 in a “love scam”, and a 90-year-old retiree who was conned of RM3.83 million in a Macau scam.
“The public are advised to be more alert, to not easily panic, and to check before making any financial transactions,” he said in a statement on the 13th Laksana report on the implementation of the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (Prihatin) and National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) today.
He said the public should be wary of suspicious calls purportedly from the authorities or a government agency requesting personal data or money transfer to avoid “legal action”.
“The public are advised to check beforehand with the relevant authority or government agency for clarification,” he said, noting that information on scam tactics and how to protect oneself is available at Bank Negara Malaysia’s Facebook feed titled “Amaran Scam” at https://www.facebook.com/amaranpenipuan.
Tengku Zafrul said anyone who thinks they have been a victim of fraud may contact BNMTELELINK at 1300-88-5465.
“The public should also be alert about questionable websites and applications that use initiatives under the Prihatin or Penjana label.
“They are also advised to not share sensitive personal information such as bank account number and the like, without verifying the authenticity of the website or application in question,” he added. — Bernama
