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Bank staff helping syndicates to hijack accounts?
January 05, 2009
INTERNATIONAL crime syndicates may be getting help from rogue bank employees in Malaysia to hijack the accounts of customers.
PICTURE: NST
The New Straits Times (NST) reported that funds from 60 to 70 bank accounts are being siphoned off every month.
The Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) has also revealed that it has been flooded with reports of 'hijacked accounts' involving several banks for more than two years.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Senator T Murugiah said he suspects the missing money could be the work of bank staff feeding information to external fraudsters.
'How would a syndicate know which account to target if it did not have inside help?' he told NST.
'It is very likely that bank workers sell classified details to the syndicate which then use the information to transfer funds into overseas accounts.'
He added: 'This is alarming and should not be treated lightly. If anyone has found that their bank accounts have been tampered with, they should immediately report it.'
He also called for banks to be held responsible and made to compensate victims of such frauds for not safeguarding their funds.
He cited the example of the factory worker who claimed that RM7,400 ($3,100) in his savings account had mysteriously been transferred by a third party to an account in Indonesia.
The bank in that case alleged that a syndicate had sent a text message to the worker, telling him that he had won a cash prize.
The worker was then told to go to an automated teller machine and follow certain instructions.
However, the factory worker, who lodged a complaint with the PCB, said he did not receive any text message nor did he register to use the bank's online facilities.
Further investigations revealed that the money was sent via telegraphic transfer to the Indonesian account.
The bank has since promised to compensate the defrauded worker after the two parties met with Mr Murugiah last week.
'The public should be aware of the various scams and not fall prey to them,' said Mr Murugiah.
Association of Banks Malaysia (ABM) executive director Chuah Mei Lin declined to comment on the matter saying the association would release a statement next week.
'We are conducting our own investigation on money lost to 'cyber thieves' in Indonesia,' she said without elaborating.
January 05, 2009
INTERNATIONAL crime syndicates may be getting help from rogue bank employees in Malaysia to hijack the accounts of customers.
PICTURE: NST
The New Straits Times (NST) reported that funds from 60 to 70 bank accounts are being siphoned off every month.
The Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) has also revealed that it has been flooded with reports of 'hijacked accounts' involving several banks for more than two years.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Senator T Murugiah said he suspects the missing money could be the work of bank staff feeding information to external fraudsters.
'How would a syndicate know which account to target if it did not have inside help?' he told NST.
'It is very likely that bank workers sell classified details to the syndicate which then use the information to transfer funds into overseas accounts.'
He added: 'This is alarming and should not be treated lightly. If anyone has found that their bank accounts have been tampered with, they should immediately report it.'
He also called for banks to be held responsible and made to compensate victims of such frauds for not safeguarding their funds.
He cited the example of the factory worker who claimed that RM7,400 ($3,100) in his savings account had mysteriously been transferred by a third party to an account in Indonesia.
The bank in that case alleged that a syndicate had sent a text message to the worker, telling him that he had won a cash prize.
The worker was then told to go to an automated teller machine and follow certain instructions.
However, the factory worker, who lodged a complaint with the PCB, said he did not receive any text message nor did he register to use the bank's online facilities.
Further investigations revealed that the money was sent via telegraphic transfer to the Indonesian account.
The bank has since promised to compensate the defrauded worker after the two parties met with Mr Murugiah last week.
'The public should be aware of the various scams and not fall prey to them,' said Mr Murugiah.
Association of Banks Malaysia (ABM) executive director Chuah Mei Lin declined to comment on the matter saying the association would release a statement next week.
'We are conducting our own investigation on money lost to 'cyber thieves' in Indonesia,' she said without elaborating.
