It always starts with a phone call. And at times, the receiver simply falls for the sweet words or threats made by the caller – en route to being scammed.
I experienced such a phone call recently. Being someone who usually avoids answering calls from unknown numbers, I decided to pick this one up, thinking it could be important.
The caller introduced himself as an officer from Maybank’s headquarters in Jalan Tun Perak, in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
“Puan Muzliza, I’m an AMLA officer from Maybank HQ. I’m calling to verify some information. Do you have a Maybank account in Johor?” he asked, in Bahasa Melayu.
For the record, AMLA refers to the Anti-Money Laundering Act in Malaysia.
I told the so-called ‘AMLA officer’ that I hadn’t been to Johor in ages and no longer had a Maybank account.
For those who’ve received similar calls, this script will sound familiar.
The voice was authoritative. The tone, professional. He seemed to know exactly who I was.
He began asking more questions. Then came the twist – the police, he claimed, were on my tail.
“We’ve been informed that the Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department has launched an investigation into your account. It is believed your account was used as a mule account. If you deny this, it could mean your identity has been compromised,” he said.
The caller dropped the right buzzwords, named the correct department, and presented a plausible scenario.
“You need to give a statement to the police. We’ll help you with that. It won’t take long. We’ll connect you to the investigating officer,” he added, giving me his ‘full name’ and a supposed police report number.
To sound more convincing, he said AMLA cases were confidential and accessible only to authorised personnel. He warned that if I contacted the police myself, they wouldn’t be able to trace the case as it was classified.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know I was an experienced journalist who had dealt with the police for decades.
When I refused to play along, he sounded shocked. I told him I would head to the nearest police station or Maybank HQ that same day if it was truly urgent. I also asked for his office number so I could follow up directly.
His response: “Puan, we use a call-out system. We don’t even know what number appears on your end. It could be a mobile number. You can’t call us back, but I can give you Maybank customer service if you like.”
Call-out systems are used by banks to contact loan defaulters. The number that appears varies, and yes, you typically can’t call it back. But unlike scammers, real bank officers usually provide a direct line or case reference for verification.
This was 100 per cent a scam call.
Undeterred, the caller tried one last tactic. He said he would get his ‘senior officer’ to explain how important it was that I gave my statement to avoid further investigation. I ended the call.
But he called back. This time, there were two of them – teaming up to pressure and berate me for “not cooperating”.
I told them I would verify everything myself and even thanked them for their “help” in alerting me to the supposed probe. They sounded annoyed and eventually hung up.
But here’s the thing – not everyone has experience dealing with law enforcement or the media. Many people could have easily fallen for that conversation.
These scammers are convincing, confident, and dangerously well-prepared to create the illusion that their ‘victim’ is in serious trouble.
According to the Federal Police Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), more than 20,000 online scam reports were received between January and May 2025, with total losses nearing RM1 billion.
Last year, CCID recorded over 35,000 scam cases, with RM1.6 billion in losses. Around three-quarters of these cases involved online scams.
“Never trust a call like that. But sadly, many still fall victim,” said acting CCID director, Datuk Seri Muhammed Hasbullah Ali.
“When we speak to the victims, many insist they truly believed they were dealing with police officers or authorised officials – even after we tell them otherwise,” he told Twentytwo13.
How to stay safe?
Hasbullah offered these crucial tips:
• Do not click on any suspicious links received via SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram or other platforms.
• Never share banking details with strangers.
• Do not trust any calls or messages from unknown numbers claiming to be from banks or enforcement agencies. Always confirm through official channels.
“Do not make rushed decisions. Scammers thrive on panic – they will pressure and threaten you to act quickly. Talk to your family. Verify everything before taking any action.”
He also urged the public to make use of the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) by calling 997 to check on any suspicious calls or messages.
