GEORGE TOWN: A retired headmaster lost some RM55,000 to scammers after he came across an advertisement in Facebook for a cleaning service in 2022.
Ooi Eng Lye, 66, said despite asking the issuing bank to block his debit and credit cards, several transactions were made to both his cards.
Speaking to newsmen here today, Eng Lye said at 8pm on Nov 16, 2022, he contacted an individual through an advertisement in Facebook to subscribe to cleaning services.
He then spoke to a man on the telephone, who suggested that he pay the deposit via a link which was sent to his cellphone.
He clicked on the link to pay but his debit card was declined.
The man then suggested for eng Lye to use his credit card but even that was denied.
The man later suggested that he pay the full amount when he sent over the maid the following day.
"I couldn't sleep that night and around 3am on Nov 17, I scrolled through my debit card account and found that RM15,000 in my savings account was gone.
"I immediately called the bank to make a report and requested them to block my debit and credit cards.
"However, the customer service person told me there were four transactions made via my debit card between 8.03pm and 8.17pm on Nov 16, which I denied making.
"I immediately lodged a police report at 4.16am on Nov 17 and handed over the report to the bank," he said.
Eng Lye said on Dec 14, 2022, he received his credit card statement that reflected 15 fraudulent transactions amounting to RM40,631.94.
Among them were the purchase of two iPhones in Bangkok as well as three eWallet and eight e-commerce transactions.
"My telco provider wrote back to my enquiry to say that no one-time password (OTP) was sent out during the period the transactions were made.
"How is it that the bank still allowed the transactions when I asked them to block my credit card? Why didn't the bank verify with me first?"
Eng Lye has since managed to recover about RM20,524 in refunds from the e-commerce transactions.
"However, I am still stressed out that the bank has not given a valid explanation or settlement to my case.
"I entrusted my money to them and this is what I got in return. It seems to me that it is safer to just put my savings under my pillow than in the bank," he added, noting that he had also had numerous meetings with the Ombudsman for Financial Services (OFS).
Meanwhile, Penang Gerakan public complaints bureau chief Andrew Ooi urged the bank to be more responsible when dealing with such issues and to enhance their security system.
"What are the banks doing to help their clients, who are victims of scams?
"In this case, the client had asked that his card be blocked yet there were still transactions made without confirming with the client first. Should the client be held liable for what the bank did?
"This is not the first and possibly not the last victim of scam. The authorities must act seriously to put a stop to this," he said.