Syndicates may be preying on victims using leaked banking information: Michael Chong

KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA Public Services and Complaints Department said that there is a possibility that personal banking information has been leaked to syndicates who prey on the public.
Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said innocent victims might lose their savings to such syndicates, if the issue is not swiftly dealt with.
"I hope the police and banks will conduct some thorough checks into their security system to ensure there isn't any breach, instead of just sending reminders to the public that they will never call them for personal information or ask them to deposit a certain amount of money into a different bank account," Chong said during a press conference at Wisma MCA today.
Chong held the press conference to highlight the case of a 69-year-old retiree, Yap Chin Kee, who almost fell victim to such a scam.
Yap had received multiple phone calls from two individuals claiming to be bank officers from a local bank.
"In the phone conversation, they informed him that he has an outstanding loan payment for the housing loan he had with the bank and demanded that he clear the amount by meeting them at Pudu to which Yap replied that he has never missed a single payment.
"Feeling suspicious, Yap declined to meet up with them and went to the bank to double check on their claims, where he was told that the number in question does not belong to the bank."
However, Chong said that Yap continued to receive phone calls from the two individuals, and in the latest phone conversation, they asked Yap to deposit the outstanding amount to a personal bank account and if he refused to do so, they would come looking for him at home.
Fearing for his safety, Yap lodged a police report at the Jinjang police station on Wednesday. The officers there advised him to ignore the calls.