The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) has advised members of the public to ignore calls purportedly being made from banks regarding outstanding loan amounts or requesting confirmation on credit card transactions.

"Banks will never request for personal information through telephone calls," said the association in a statement.

Based on the reports received, it is noted that there were two common modus operandi (MO) employed by the fraudsters.

The first MO involves a recorded message informing the recipients that they have an outstanding amount due. 

Under the second MO, the caller will identify himself/herself as an officer of a bank and will inform the recipient that there was a transaction performed using his credit card, or that his loan/credit card payment is overdue.

The caller would then proceed to ask for the recipient's personal details on the pretext of checking their system, said ABM.

In some cases, the caller would transfer the call to another "officer" from the complaints or similar department.

"The public is reminded not to follow the instructions provided by the caller and not to disclose any of their personal information. Also never call the number provided by the caller," said ABM.

For more information, the public can call ABMConnect hotline at 1-300-88-9980, or log on to its website, www.abm.org.my.

- Bernama