The information furnished herein is by no means exhaustive as it is based on cases received by Affin Bank Berhad and Affin Islamic Bank Berhad.

Caller ID spoofing

It has recently been brought to our attention that the Bank's general line number has been used by unauthorized parties to trick unsuspecting customers into providing their personal information with intention to cheat. The phone numbers used are exactly or very similar to the Bank's contact number (e.g. 603-2055 9000, 603-5522 3000).

Based on complaints received, calls are mostly related to credit card transactions. Examples include collection of payment overdue, verification of transaction done at a location where the customer may not reside or a transaction that is not performed, uncollected credit card, etc.

Unauthorised use of credit card

The modus operandi of recent incidences reported is as follows:

Modus Operandi 1

• Victims would receive a call from a purported employee of AFFINBANK from 03-2368 8888/ 03-2488 0000/ 03-2055 0000/ 03-2558 7766/ 03-2980 4433.
• The caller (fraudster) would have the personal details of the victim such as their full name, NRIC number and address. The victim would be informed that the purpose of the call is for collection of outstanding payment for purchase of goods/ services purportedly charged to the victim's credit card. The victim will also be given details of the transaction (date, place and amount).
• When the victim informs the fraudster that he/ she has no such credit card or performed the transaction as mentioned by the fraudster, the victim will be requested to contact Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for further verification at 03-2168 3767/ 03-2788 3514. In recent cases received, the victims will be requested to contact the Bank’s Careline number; 1 800 88 3883 for verification. This may entice the victim to provide the details as requested by the fraudster.
• When the victim calls the BNM contact number given, they will be greeted by an Automated Attendant which identifies the call to BNM and the call will subsequently be answered by a person claiming to be from BNM.
• The person will obtain further details on the victim's credit card and banking information and may use the information furnished to conduct illegal transactions or trick the victim into performing transfers via other payment channels such as ATM to a designated account given by the fraudster on the outstanding amount to avoid legal action.

Modus Operandi 2

• Victims would receive a SMS from 63633 or mobile phone number with a message e.g. "A trxn was made on your Affin Bank Visa credit card today of RMXXXX.XX at KLIA2, Lazo. Please contact 03-2168 3767" OR “RM0.00 AffinBank: MYRXXXX.XX was charged to your card ending **7749 at Mid Valley-Lazo Diamond on 12/05/2017. Pls call AffinBank:03-27883619 if you did not authorise this. TXN Code:112788”
  Note: There are other contact numbers furnished in the SMS besides those numbers
  mentioned.
• When the victims contact the phone number furnished in the SMS, a person would introduce himself/herself from AFFINBANK and request victims for their full name and NRIC number. The victims will be informed that they have a credit card from AFFINBANK, the credit card number including when and where the credit card was applied.
• When the victim informs the fraudster that he/ she has no such credit card or performed the transaction as mentioned by the fraudster, the victim will be requested to contact Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for further verification at 03-2788 3514. In recent cases received, the victims will be requested to contact the Bank’s Careline number; 1 800 88 3883 for verification. This may entice the victim to provide the details as requested by the fraudster.
• When the victim calls the BNM contact number given, they will be greeted by an Automated Attendant which identifies the call to BNM and the call will subsequently be answered by a person claiming to be from BNM.
• The person will obtain further details on the victim's credit card and banking information and may use the information furnished to conduct illegal transactions or trick the victim into performing transfers via other payment channels such as ATM to a designated account given by the fraudster (by giving ‘PIN’ numbers to victim) on the outstanding amount to avoid legal action and to ‘upgrade the security system’.

We would like to advise you NOT to entertain such requests. Please be guided by the following:

• Do not give your personal information in response to an incoming call. The Bank will never request you to reveal your personal information via a telephone call. Instead, hang up and call the Call Centre number on your account statement, Bankcard/ Credit Card or Bank's Corporate Website, www.affinbank.com.my to ascertain the authenticity of the entity that purportedly called you.
• Please refer to the following link on recent scams via telephone published by Bank Negara Malaysia: http://fraudalert.bnm.gov.my/
• Please alert the Bank immediately upon receipt of such calls by
  • By phone to the Call Centre at 03-5522 3000 or Careline at 1 800 88 3883
  • By email to yourvoice@affinbank.com.my
  • By completing the Online Feedback Form

Unauthorised loan application

Modus Operandi 1

• The Victim would receive a call from a purported employee of AFFINBANK or an automated voice call from the Bank’s general line number; 03-2055 9000 on an overdue loan payment and for further information, victims would be requested to press ‘9’.
• Upon pressing ‘9’, the Victim would be a greeted by the purported Bank employee who would introduce him/herself and provide their Employee ID to convince Victims that the call is genuine.
• Upon providing the Victim’s full name, IC number and home address, the Victim will be informed that he/she had applied for a loan and details such as the loan amount, date of application, date of loan acceptance including place/ Branch where the loan was applied will be furnished to the Victim. Usually the location where the application was allegedly made is at a different state from where the Victim is residing.
• When the Victim informs the Fraudster that he/ she has no account with the Bank, the Victim will be advised to lodge a police report as his/ her ID could have be used to fraudulently apply for the loan. The Fraudster would volunteer to make arrangement for the Victim to lodge a police report online for the Victim’s convenience.
• Thereafter, the Fraudster will directly transfer the call to allegedly the Police Headquarters/ District Office. The call will be immediately answered by a purported Police Sergeant who would request for the personal and loan details of the Victim. The Caller ID that would appear on the Victim’s handphone is the same as the Police Headquarters/ District. The Sergeant would also ask the Victim to confirm the number via Google to confirm.
• At this point, the Victim will be convinced that the call is genuine and that he/ she is actually making an online police report. Furthermore, the report taken by the purported Sergeant will be very systematic.
• Before ending the call, the Sergeant will inform the Victim that based on the information given, he/ she will perform a background check on the Victim.
• From the background check, the Sergeant will inform the Victim that the Victim has been involved in a serious crime and a warrant of arrest has been issued. The Victim will be threatened that all their accounts will be freezed/ seized and will be requested to provide their Bank account details to avoid arrest.
• If the Victims fall into this trap, the Fraudster will use the information given to conduct illegal transactions or trick the Victim into performing transfer via other payment channels such as ATM or internet banking to a designated account given by the Fraudster.

 

Transfer of money to third party account

Victims of this type of scan will be coaxed into transferring money to a third party account. The modus operandi of recent incidences reported is as follows:

Modus Operandi 1
 

• The Caller (fraudster), claiming to be a representative of a well-known establishment will contact recipient on a contest or promotion which customer had purportedly won
• The Recipient will be requested to go to the Bank’s nearest ATM machine to register for online banking on the pretext that the prize money will be transferred online.
• Recipient will be guided on the steps to register for online banking by the Fraudster and the mobile number of the Fraudster will be registered as well to receive the Transaction Authorization Code (TAC).
• Upon completion of registration, the Fraudster will notify Recipient as to when he/ she will receive the prize money.
• With Recipient’s personal information, the Fraudster will siphon funds from Recipient’s account.

Modus Operandi 2
 

• The Victim would receive a call from a purported employee of AFFINBANK from 03-5522 3000 or 03-2055 9000.
• The Caller (Fraudster) would have the personal details of the Victim such as their full name and NRIC number.
• The Victim would be informed that the purpose of the call is to verify or confirm on the numerous fund transfers performed from the victim's deposit account with the Bank to another Bank via online banking.
• The Victim will also be given details of the transaction (date, amount, account number of both AFFINBANK and Beneficiary Bank) and the domicile Branch where the account was opened.
• When the Victim informs the Fraudster that he/ she has no account with the Bank, the Victim will be advised to lodge a police report and the Fraudster will directly transfer the call to allegedly the Police Headquarters.
• The Victim's call will be attended by another Fraudster who will request the Victim to provide information on the fund transfer transactions.
• If the Victim chooses to proceed with lodgement of police report, the Fraudster will request for further personal information of the Victim and may use the information furnished to conduct illegal transactions or trick the Victim into performing transfer via other payment channels such as ATM or internet banking to a designated account given by the Fraudster.

If you have fallen victim to these calls, you may take these steps to minimize any damage:

1. Change the passwords or PINs of all your online accounts that may have been compromised.
2. Alert the Bank immediately via the following:
   • By phone to the Call Centre at 03-5522 3000 or Careline at 1 800 88 3883
   • By email to yourvoice@affinbank.com.my
   • By completing the Online Feedback Form
3. Approach any of our Branches to close the accounts which have been fraudulently accessed immediately.
4. Lodge a police report where applicable for further investigation to be carried-out.

For further information on the various financial scams, kindly refer to the following links:

• http://www.bnm.gov.my/microsites/fraudalert/index.htm
• http://www.abm.org.my e-banking_fraud_awareness_campaign