Reports about Malaysians losing their life savings due to scammers have fast become a daily affair.
However, there are cases where scam attempts are successfully thwarted - thanks to bank heroes.
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However, there are cases where scam attempts are successfully thwarted - thanks to bank heroes.
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00Reports of Malaysians losing life savings to scammers have become common,
00:05but some attempts are thwarted by alert bank staff.
00:09Late last year, Maybank executive Yusrina grew suspicious
00:13when a regular customer in her 70s sought to withdraw her fixed deposit
00:18and transfer it to her own account and across multiple banks.
00:22At first she looked at the empty and she hesitated.
00:26Then she said, it's okay, you can just proceed.
00:31Then I noticed, actually how much you want to transfer?
00:35Okay, I want to transfer about 400 over thousand to my own account.
00:42Then I said, why do you want to transfer this money?
00:45This is actually, I think a lot you don't normally do this kind of transaction.
00:51So then she said, oh, then let me check first.
00:55So I was like, she wanted to check who she wanted to send.
01:00I saw that she actually looking at her handphone and then texting somebody.
01:06Sensing something was wrong, Yusrina and her team contacted one of her daughters
01:11who arrived at the bank and alerted her mother to the scam.
01:14So then after that, I don't know what the daughter said.
01:20Then she said, oh, I think this is a scammer.
01:24We want to stop this transaction.
01:26After that, we asked her to wash her face.
01:31After that, the daughter said, I think I've been scammed.
01:34Then she thanked us for the incident.
01:38I'm very happy, thankful that she wasn't scammed.
01:43Because in Premier Banking, we have a close relationship with customers.
01:48So I'm very happy that we managed to save her.
01:53Meanwhile, United Overseas Bank Jalan Ampang branch sales and service manager Eldy
01:58also went the extra mile to prevent a scam
02:01when a customer, misled by a scam email,
02:04inquired about a US$4 million transfer.
02:07When I checked on his transaction record
02:10and I realised that he had already made some transfers to the party.
02:14So when I asked further, okay, so who is the beneficiary?
02:18And then he told me that this is so-called a lawyer
02:21who appointed as the lawyer who handled all the legalisations of the paper and all that.
02:28So to ensure that he is the legal beneficiary of this US$4 million.
02:33So when I asked further, like, who actually gave you this instruction and all that?
02:37So he's still like very reluctant to tell me all the stories.
02:41So I decided then to...
02:45My gut feel actually told me that something is not right there.
02:48So I decided to immediately stop his internet banking access and also debit card.
02:54So by doing so, it's actually, the rationale behind is
02:58the customer had no other choice but to visit the branch
03:01if let's say he wants to withdraw more money from the account.
03:04The customer later sought a loan for processing fees to a supposed lawyer,
03:08leading Eldy to investigate further.
03:10So I actually googled the background of this law firm
03:13and I really found out this law firm which actually physically located in Ipoh.
03:19So I called to the number in Google.
03:23So it was an office number.
03:26So when the person answered my call and then I actually gave all my client's details and all that,
03:30then they actually verified that, oh, this is not my client.
03:34He can't accept the truth that everything was fake.
03:37Until I have no choice, I have to like really put everything on loudspeaker
03:41and tell the customer, hey, please wake up.
03:43Everything is fake and this is a scam.
03:46Concerned for the customer's well-being after he accepted the truth and left quietly,
03:50Eldy informed his family to ensure his safety.
03:54As part of their heroic gestures,
03:56Maybank's Yusrina, along with UOB's Eldy,
03:59were honoured at the hashtag
04:01Jangan Kena Scam Bank Heroes Recognition Event 2025
04:05for preventing customer scams.