34yo man loses RM7,200 in online loan scam as fraudsters pose as bank officers, fabricate official documents

Foo (right) and Lim, holding a tablet showing the online ad which had lead him to become a victim of a bank loan scam at SUPP headquarters on Oct 5, 2024.

By Karen Bong

KUCHING, Oct 5: A 34-year-old entrepreneur lost his savings of RM7,200, instead of getting a RM20,000 loan, after falling victim to a sophisticated bank loan scam, where fraudsters posed as bank officers and even fabricated documents from Bank Negara Malaysia and the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN).

Seeking help from the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party Public Complaints Bureau (SUPP PCB), the victim, Lim, said the incident began when he saw a loan advertisement, purportedly from a bank, on social media on Sept 29.

After clicking the ad’s link, a form appeared for him to enter his personal details, which he did not fill out.

The next day, he was contacted via WhatsApp through the number 017-8738098 by a man claiming to be “Desmond Lim Jia Hao”, a personal loan consultant from the bank.

The suspect asked if Lim was interested in applying for a loan which the latter agreed and shared his personal details, including his bank account statement and business license registration.

He then transferred RM300, allegedly for a stamp duty fee, to a private account, after which he received a receipt from LHDN via email.

“The next day, I received an SMS from 63001 stating the loan had been approved, but I needed to notify the bank officer to proceed within three working days. After contacting Desmond, I saw that RM20,000 was credited into my account, but it was frozen,” Lim said during a press conference organised by SUPP PCB chief Milton Foo at the party headquarters today.

To resolve the issue, Lim was contacted on Oct 2, 2024, by three additional scammers claiming to be bank officers.

He was instructed to make four online transactions to different accounts for various procedures, including credit scoring checks and advance loan installments, totalling RM6,908.28.

“Later, I received an email from Bank Negara stating that the approved loan exceeded RM20,000 and needed to be investigated. Desmond asked for another RM1,300 to resolve the issue. Feeling suspicious, I contacted the bank’s Mile 4 branch, where they confirmed the loan was a scam,” he explained.

Lim lodged a police report at the Sungai Maong Station but later discovered that one of the reports he had signed inaccurately indicated that he “willingly withdrew the report and had no interest in pursuing the investigation up to the court level and that the police report is made for reference with the bank to reclaim my money”.

Foo warned the public not to fall for online financial service advertisements, highlighting how fraudsters managed to contact Lim despite him not providing his details.

“If you’re applying for a loan, go to the bank personally and follow the proper procedures,” he advised.

Foo also highlighted that online scams have been a persistent issue, with RM3.2 billion lost to such scams in Malaysia between 2021 and 2024, affecting over 95,837 victims, according to the Malaysia Digital Ministry.

“The key is to spot poor grammar and sentences in these forged documents and messages,” he said.

He urged the government and authorities to enforce stricter regulations on financial institutions and telecommunications companies to make it more difficult for scammers to operate.

“This includes tightening rules for opening bank accounts to curb mule accounts used by scammers and imposing higher penalties on banks found to have mule accounts,” Foo suggested. — DayakDaily