Public reminded to be careful of phone scams

KUALA LUMPUR: The public was reminded not to fall for phone scams or the "Macau scam" carried out by syndicates.
This comes following a growing number of cases where people were fooled by calls claiming to be from financial institutions or the police.
Bukit Aman police corporate communications chief SAC Datuk Asmawati Ahmad said that these scammers use several ways to fool victims.
Asmawati said the Macau scam syndicates originate from Taiwan and China that used international lines locally or Hong Kong.
"These come in the form of phone calls to inform of lucky draw winnings, calls demanding ransom for kidnapped victims, as well as pretending to be police personnel or bank officials which is commonly known as spoofing," she said.
According to Asmawati, Spoofing is a technique where a caller will communicate using a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
She advised that the public always be aware of unknown numbers trying to contact them and not to fall for it.
Do not panic and blindly follow instructions given by the caller without first calling the police or financial institutions.
She also advised not to return calls but instead get the official number of companies, organisations or institutions that have made contact.
Furthermore, she asked to check on the Bank Negara Malaysia website for latest updates on financial fraud.
Most importantly, she advised not to expose bank account numbers, ATM card numbers or credit card details over the phone.