Public urged to watch out for scammers impersonating NSRC officials

The public to watch out for scams where imposters pretend to be officials from the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) by both The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM)

In a joint statement, both banks claimed that there are a growing number of such scams targeting bank customers.

“In such scenarios, the fraudster would pose as an NSRC officer and attempt to scare unsuspecting victims by alleging that their personal information, such as National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) number or mobile number, is linked to illegal or fraudulent activities,” the joint statement said.

The joint statement revealed that the scam began with a call from an unknown number claiming to be from NSRC. The fraudster falsely accuses the victim of criminal activity and employs prolonged “interrogation” tactics to gain trust. 

Eventually, they request victims to leave their debit/ATM card at a specified location.

This enables the fraudster to secretly enter the victim’s online banking account and carry out unauthorized transfers and bill payments, all without the victim’s knowledge or consent.

The joint statement even said, “If the victim does not have an existing online banking facility, the fraudster could even register for one.”

“Customers are urged to immediately hang up if they receive calls from individuals claiming to be NSRC officers, as NSRC only receives calls from the public and does not make any outbound calls to individuals,” the joint statement advised.

The public is urged to be cautious of imposters posing as officials from enforcement agencies like Bank Negara Malaysia and Polis Diraja Malaysia, both banks said. 

After all, these fraudsters used threats and intimidation to coerce victims into transferring their money out of their bank accounts and revealing their online banking details.

The joint statement advises victims of scams to immediately dial 997 to contact the NSRC or seek assistance from the bank’s round-the-clock hotline.