Being a victim of a scam isn’t fun. No one wants to lose all our hard-earned money over to some low-life scammer.
Unfortunately, these horrid villains get more and more creative in ways to trick innocent people into giving up their personal account information.
The worst part is, with the advancement of technology, it’s hard to tell when we’re being scammed until it’s too late.
Just like poor Lee Shi Ni Michelle, she honestly thought that she had received an email from the government body, Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN).
LHDN is basically the government sector which handles taxes and Malaysians usually go through this government sector for our income tax.
In a heartbreaking Facebook post she wrote on November 1, 2017, Michelle shares how an e-mail caused her to instantly lose all the money in her bank account. (Ya, ya, we know this happened 7 years ago, but till date there is a myriad of scams out there and this is a reminder to everyone to be EXTRA EXTRA vigilant!!!)
Michelle said,
“I received this email from Encik Fadzli Bin Abdul Wahit <phillir1@gvsu.edu> on Monday and yesterday, I clicked in to check it out.”
Turns out, many people, including us at WOB have received this email!
“After clicking the blue proceed button, I was linked to a page with logos of all the banks, telling me to select my bank and follow the instructions given.
“After I selected CIMB bank, I was directed to CIMBclicks.”
Oh no, girl… that should have been a massive red light already!
“I keyed in my username and password and was then asked to type in the TAC code.
“A few minutes later, I received an SMS from CIMB saying that almost ALL my money in the bank account was transferred out to a person whom I DON’T EVEN KNOW!”
“So I called CIMB customer service and they were surprised to know that I did not perform this transaction. They informed me that my transfer limit was increased and the money was transferred out subsequently.
“I was so shocked as both acts were not carried out by me! The only thing I saw on CIMBclicks was just the page to type in username and password.
“I didn’t even click into the ‘transfer’ page nor the increase transfer limit page. CIMB then blocked my account and advised me to make a police report.
“So I made the police report at the police station near my house. I was then asked to meet the police inspector for Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial in Sri Petaling.
“But sadly, the inspector told me that there is no way that I can get the money back. I can only hope that they can find the culprit and lock him up in jail.”
We always think that only fools could ever fall for such ridiculous scams these days, and we are always so confident that these things will never happen to us. However, even someone who reads the news every day can still fall prey. 🙁
“Even though I have always read about internet scams, I have never thought that I would one day fall victim to it. So, be careful everybody, as it can happen to anyone.”
So, the next time you see such emails, it is best to be careful and avoid clicking on any weird links, especially if you’re unsure what it is. There’s also a similar e-mail from the same person that’s being sent out, but instead of asking you to click into a link, you have to download a file. PS: Don’t do it. Official emails from LHDN are supposed to have @hasil.com.my.
Well, it is best to ignore such emails! Tag a friend in the comment section to save them from becoming victims of such scams!
P.S. When you’re not sure, always check by calling their official phone line: 1-800-88-5436 or the nearest LHDN branch number listed on www.hasil.gov.my.
Also read: Malaysians Need to Beware of This Syndicate Posing as LHDN to Scam Their Money