KUALA LUMPUR: Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM) has reminded the public to be extra cautious and to inform the authorities if they are asked to pay for PIDM’s protection.
Its chief executive officer Rafiz Azuan Abdullah said there was an increase in number of complaints received from members of the public who were asked to pay for PIDM’s protection this year.
“The protection is automatically provided to bank depositors, Takaful certificate holders as well as insurance policy holders by PIDM free of charge.
“In most cases, the complainants were asked to pay to ‘activate’ the protection to receive funds, usually in the form of loans, from third parties,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
He said most of these incidents involved individuals applying for loans through money lenders and recorded through inquiries received via PIDM call centre and email.
“Complainants were asked to pay administrative and legal fees and in some cases, separate payments to register new bank accounts before the loan was issued to them.
“We want to remind the public that PIDM member institutions do not include money lenders and PIDM protection does not cover other loans and non-deposit products,” he said.
Members of the public are advised to contact PIDM call centre at 1800-88-1266 or send an email to [email protected] for any queries. — Bernama