CompareHero: Credit Card fraud in Malaysia

0

This is Part 3 of a Question and Answer session with Floyd Sijmons, chief executive officer of CompareHero, giving you unbiased views on credit cards, loans, even on insurance and home services (like broadband and telcos), along with other financial products in the Malaysian market.

If you have any finance-related questions to ask Floyd, please email them to [email protected].

 

What is credit card fraud?

Credit card fraud happens when someone uses your card without your permission to make purchases on your card.

 

Q: What are some of the types of credit card fraud, then?

A: Stolen cards: criminals can make purchases using a stolen credit card.

Application fraud: when criminals use someone else’s details to open credit card accounts.

Account takeover: criminals impersonate cardholders to change the billing address and then cancel a card to get a new card sent to the ‘new’ address.

Skimming: criminals use an electronic device to swipe and store credit card information.

Phishing: either through phone or email, criminals convince cardholders to give out their card details often by impersonating as bank officials.

 

How can i protect myself from credit card fraud?

Don’t take your eyes off your credit card when you hand it over so cashiers can’t use skimming devices on your card.

Be very sceptical of anybody who asks your card details through calls or emails.

Report a lost credit card immediately.

Call your bank immediately if you’ve card charges you don’t recognise.

Cut up old receipts and statements.

Write ‘SID’ (show ID) on your card so the cashier has to ask for your ID before making charges on the card.

Don’t leave your credit card in your car as a large number of cards are stolen from private vehicles.

 

Q: How is the credit card fraud Situation in Malaysia now? 

A: Credit card fraud in Malaysia has thankfully fallen to around RM20 million in 2006—that’s compared to RM68 million from 2004, according the Bank Negara, mainly thanks to the introduction of chip-based EMV standards.

MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau received 13 credit card fraud cases involving RM45,000 in 2009 and 14 cases involving RM76,000 in 2008.

 

Q: What are some cases of credit card fraud in Malaysia?

A: In 2010, a travel agent was forced to pay RM17,000 after they processed airline tickets for five African men only to be told later by the bank that the cards used were forged.

In 2010, Kedah CCID seized 137 cloned foreign credit cards in Alor Setar.

In 2012, a tourist who stayed at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur

reported that US$1,000 in fraudulent transactions were made on his card from Beirut, Lebanon.

In 2013, a Malaysian woman was sentenced to 21 months in jail in Australia for being part of an international crime syndicate that used counterfeit credit cards to pay for goods.

Recently, two Malaysians were sentenced to 24 months in jail in Guam on credit card fraud charges.

This content is created by Floyd Sijmons for the readers of Borneo Post. Sijmons is the CEO of CompareHero, the most extensive Malaysian financial comparison platform today. He believes in the value of saving Malaysians time and money by giving them information they need to compare financial products in the market. For more, visit CompareHero at www.comparehero.my.