Scammers On The Line: How To Protect Yourself Against Scam Calls
While it’s easy to think that we won’t fall for a scam, the truth is that anyone can, especially if we aren’t vigilant. A convincing narrative or an intricate scheme can convince many to part with their money. Many don’t realise they’ve been scammed until it’s too late.
Most people are generally cautious when it comes to money, which is why scammers are always coming up with new and sophisticated tricks to target individuals. These malicious individuals are constantly looking for ways to exploit weaknesses in people to make some financial gain.
However, not all scam stories end in misfortune; here are some actual stories of customers who were protected by the bank’s fraud team. They managed to prevent customers from being scammed.
Telephone Prize Scam
It began as a simple call from a person who introduced themselves as an officer from a telco company, informing the customer that she had won a prize that she could claim by following a link provided. When she opened the link, she was immediately instructed to enter her online banking credentials in order to proceed. Little did she know, she was actually following the instructions of a scammer, and she had just given them access to her TAC number.
A few minutes later, the customer received a call from CIMB’s fraud team. They explained that there was an attempted transaction of almost RM10,000 that originated from the client’s account, which was immediately detected by CIMB’s fraud system and placed on hold. After verifying the events, the transaction was cancelled instantly.
The Missing Parcel Scam
Another customer received a fraudulent call, this time from a scammer impersonating an employee of a courier company. The customer was told that they had a missing parcel registered under their name and were advised to file a police report since the parcel was not theirs. The call was then transferred to a collaborator posing as a police officer. Without realising it, the customer shared her online banking credentials granting them access to their TAC number. This allowed the scammers to register for SecureTAC under a new device.
With her account credentials compromised, it was only a matter of time before a fraudulent transaction attempt was made. A transaction amounting to more than RM17,000 was immediately detected by CIMB’s Fraud System as an out-of-norm transaction and placed on hold. CIMB’s fraud team reached out to her and upon further scrutiny, it was verified that the customer had fallen victim to a scam. After obtaining the necessary information and verifying the incident, the transaction was cancelled immediately.
The Rise Of Scams And Its Prevention
The number of phone scams has been on the rise, and many have fallen victim. If the bank’s fraud team hadn’t stepped in right away, both customers mentioned earlier would’ve lost enormous sums of money.
Scammers are constantly looking for new ways to exploit unsuspecting people. Some scams may be straightforward in asking for your bank credentials via links to redeem a prize. Other scams, like the second incident, would escalate the situation by getting the “authorities” involved in the hope that the victim would be more compliant.
These are the most common and recent types of phone scams, and they have been very successful. However, those aren’t the only ones.
Measures to counter scams have been put in place, but we must all remain vigilant. Preventing scams is a joint effort and responsibility; we need to work together to stop fraudsters from gaining access to your accounts.
The First Step Is In Your Hands
CIMB customers can now temporarily freeze their accounts and stop new outgoing online transactions with the “Lock Clicks ID” feature should they detect any unusual or suspicious activities involving their bank accounts. You can easily access this feature via your CIMB Clicks App and CIMB OCTO App.
This feature grants another layer of protection to customers in the event their accounts are compromised, empowering them to take the first step to protect their accounts — all directly from their own device.
Steps To Take Against Scammers
If you receive a phone call and the person on the other end sounds suspicious, ask them for their identity so it can be used for verification. Do not be pressured to act in haste. If the caller refuses to give any information or insists on immediate payment, do not hesitate to drop the call for your security.
You should also call the purported organisation’s official contact number to validate if the call received is indeed authentic. Remember, banks and relevant authorities will never call you using a mobile number or via WhatsApp. They are also not able to transfer calls to other government bodies.
Always keep your credentials safe and do not share them with anyone. If you are a CIMB customer, you should follow the steps below if your account has been compromised:
Step 1:
Immediately activate the Lock Clicks ID feature on your CIMB Clicks/CIMB OCTO App to temporarily prevent any new outgoing transactions.
Step 2:
Notify the bank by calling CIMB’s Consumer Contact Centre (at +603-6204 7788) to inform them of the situation so they may coordinate with you to protect your account.
Step 3:
Upon gaining access to your CIMB Clicks ID, change your password and/or PIN immediately as a safety precaution to prevent fraudsters from gaining further access to your account.
Step 4:
Most importantly, lodge a police report, as they will facilitate the investigation to prevent further scams. You can also call the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 to report the incident.
If you are unsure of the situation, it’s best to pause and think carefully before acting. When under pressure, people are more likely to miss the signs or make mistakes that could have been avoided. It’s important to keep a level head in situations like these to protect you from fraud. Always remember to Stop, Think, Block.
This article is brought to you by CIMB.
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