SCAMS are on the rise in Malaysia, and despite efforts to prevent money from being siphoned from people’s accounts, a netizen today complained that scammers had stolen RM1,000 from his Touch ‘n Go (TNG) card!
In a lengthy post, he recounted how he was “tricked” into clicking a link from an SMS he had received, and raised important questions about the e-wallet’s security measures.
9/12/2022, 10 malam
Aku dapat text message dari nombor automated yang nampak biasa ada link touchngo so tekan lah ingatkan betul pic.twitter.com/zwoi0aMsJp— afifrdzwn (@loookskywalker) December 15, 2022
According to the text message the netizen had received from an automated number, RM1,000 will be credited into his TNG e-wallet where he was also instructed to update his personal details and check his status at a link.
“A few seconds later I received a one-time password (OTP) notification and an MAE notification telling me that my e-wallet had been topped up,” he related in a series of tweets.
“Something felt off [about the transaction] so I quickly went to my Touch ‘n Go e-wallet to change the security PIN but alas, as fast as my fingers were, the scammer had deducted almost RM1,000 with only a balance of RM500 left in the e-wallet.
“Here’s why I’m dissatisfied about the whole incident,” he explained after noting that he then proceeded to call his bank and lodge a police report.
“TNG does not have a 24/7 careline to handle scam and fraud cases. Furthermore, how could TNG approve three transactions simultaneously? Doesn’t it require an OTP and a security personal identification number (PIN)?
“After sending all the necessary information to TNG, their Money-back Guarantee team said that they are unable to reimburse me for the stolen money as they claimed that I was the one who authorised the transaction. What kind of reason is this?”
The netizen further slammed TNG for their less-than-stellar customer service, adding that he had to wait close to 30 minutes when he called the company’s customer careline.
“Speaking to [TNG’s] customer service isn’t helpful at all. I informed them to not block my e-wallet as all my money is gone and [the money in the e-wallet] is all that I have left,” he lamented.
“Yet they sent me an e-mail today informing me that they have blocked my account for 180 days, and if I wanted to recover my account, I will need a dispute form from the bank.
“This isn’t a problem as I have all the forms but I did not receive a single notification from TNG before they blocked my account. I called and called but nobody picked up. I honestly do not know what to do already. I have 15 more days until my next salary and I only have RM20 left.”
In an update, he said his TNG e-wallet was set to auto debit when the incident happened, although he claimed that he did not know how that happened.
In response to this thread, one user noted:
Kalau buat auto reload mmg xkn ad OTP. dia send OTP first time masa set tu je
Mmg xleh buat ap lah.. redha je and spread awareness
Sbb tu ak buat auto reload guna credit card instead of debit. sbb CC duit bank so bank mmg akn tlg siasat abis2
Kalu debit mmg bank salahkn kita
— Cryptoverse 🧬 (@CryptoverseP) December 16, 2022
(If you turn on the auto reload function [the bank] won’t send you any OTPs. They will send you an OTP when you first install the app. Just accept what has happened and spread awareness.
(This is why I auto-reload using credit cards instead of debit cards. When you use credit cards, the money belongs to the bank so they will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly. If you use a debit card the bank will tell you that it’s your own fault.).
Meanwhile, another user, who also tagged Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), said he experienced something similar.
“Topped up my TNG account just to be restricted from transferring or doing any transactions. Called their careline and waited almost 30 minutes just to be told I need to submit documents and wait one week for [them to investigate the matter],” the user said.
Yeah, I experienced something similar today. Topped up my TNG account just to be restricted from transferring or doing any transactions. Called their careline and waited almost 30 mins just to be told I need to submit docs and wait 1 week for investigation. @BNM_official
— Shashi (@blackened84) December 15, 2022
Meanwhile, user @Cee_eu urged the original poster to reach out to the central bank via BNM Telelink to report the matter: — Dec 16, 2022
Please directly report this to BNM Telelink. TnG e-wallet is licensed under Bank Negara, and this is something BNM need to take note of.
— Cee 🏴🇲🇾 (@Cee_eu) December 16, 2022
Main photo credit: JUICE
