I know a few people (rather close) that are in the banking line. So I'm not pulling stuff out of my ass.

To those that say BNM is useless, it may have been, but they've improved a lot (in terms of enforcement to banks) in the last few years.

To TS:

MBB can't do much since you transfered to Bank Islam. What you need to do:

1) Head to Bank Islam to officially lodge a complaint, with all the relevant details. Most important is your police report. GET A CASE NUMBER. They will give you their Turn-Around-Time. Wait till that period is over. Usually this is a 30-day period. Confirm the end date with them, coz this is usually 30 working days.

2) If they haven't called you back after the TAT is over, give them a call. Have your case number ready. If they haven't reached a resolution, request to speak to their TL (Team Leader - this is call centre lingo)/ Manager. They will try their best to deflect. Tell them that you are unsatisfied with whatever answer they have, and will escalate to BNM if they do not offer a resolution.

3) Magic word here is escalation to BNM, Banks need to solve whatever issues within their stipulated time frame. Especially scam cases. Coz the account that you banked in to could be a mule account. Mention this in the call.

4) The call is recorded. So make sure you have the following keywords:

"mule"
"scam"
"BNM"
their claimed TAT
whatever the branch or anyone representing the bank promises

5) If they said a manager callback will be arranged, ask for specifics. Time, Date and Name.

6) You can also go back to the branch after the phone call to follow up directly there. Although they would likely not know since these cases are handled by central.

7) The agent you speak to on the phone has almost zero knowledge of this case if the case handler didn't update, so don't pressure or be angry with them. They have no clue. You can be angry at the person handling the case, and highlight it in the call. Be clear that you don't like how your case is handled if it's too slow.

8) They won't be able to guess what resolution will come up since any resolution will be made by a different case officer.

9) In the event the resolution isn't what you want, you can usually argue to have it reopened. It is possible the case officer assigned your case is a lazy ass and just defaults to "Sorry you're Shit Out of Luck".

Now that's out of the way, cases like yours highly depends on the availability of the funds in the scammers bank. If the funds are there and you're quick enough, the account might be frozen, and the funds earmarked. If the account is a throwaway, or the scammer stops using it, and most likely, the funds are no longer there, then there's nothing you can do.

So stop whatever you're doing and immediately make a report with Bank Islam. You can call in as well, but it would be much better to do it as how I've highlighted. Reason is you want names of who's handled your case. You won't be able to find out if you call in since they cannot divulge the name of the case officier (if it's even viewable from their end). Branch staff don't have that luxury.

Final note: Don't do the whole "Send RM1 and comment as Kutu" AND don't threaten the scammer with violence. Cannot stress this enough. It will work against you. With regards to the Kutu:

1) They might think you're in cahoots with the scammer
2) It takes away credibility from your more serious case

On an entirely different note (for the benefit of others); if you consistently do this to someone, the account will be suspended as Kutu is illegal. TS, for your case, it isn't worth it since you have a more serious matter.

Good luck. Hope you get that money back. To some people at may not be much, but it's the principle of it. Next time be smart, don't do postage unless you're willing to lose the money.

PS: Forgot to mention this earlier. If you can find other people that were scammed, ask them to make a police report as well. The more the better since it builds a case. This is usually enough to convince the bank to suspend the scammers account

Don't contact BNM for the case itself, contact them once you've lodged a case with Bank Islam. The power BNM has here is to push the bank to handle the investigation within the time frame.


Maybank won't be able to do anything until Bank Islam decides to do their effing job. You need to go back, or maybe call first, since the ball is now in their court. Beneficiary bank (the bank that receives the funds) is the one that needs to initiate the investigation. What's supposed to happen is:

1) Bank Islam starts an investigation
2) They will liase with Maybank to confirm the transaction (did it take place? by what means? was it authentic? etc)
3) Once they have gathered enough evidence, combined with your police report, they should come to a conclusion.

Contact Bank Islam again and be extremely firm about wanting to open a report. Also call BNM and let them know you have made a police report and Bank Islam is not cooperating. Any scam case where funds are transferred to another bank, it wouldn't help much (if at all) to make a report with your bank, as the funds have left your account and it is out of their hands.

Bank Islam is the only one that can initiate the investigation and the fact they are refusing to do so, makes them an accomplice. You can use this argument with them, as well as BNM. You're not trying to break the law by asking for the scammers details. Simply asking the bank to start an investigation on someone who is highly likely to be a scammer. Usually cases like this, the staff is too lazy (or too new) to process the paperwork. This is absolutely the responsibility of the Bank receiving said funds.

Another keyword you can use to trigger BNM is money laundering. Industry lingo for this is AMLA. The fact that Bank Islam is refusing to start an investigation either means they are protecting the scammer, or it is part of a bigger problem. Are they allowing cases like this so they can launder the money? This should be something that interest BNM since it's no longer about someone "stealing" your money, but instead, a financial institution disregard of their responsibility.

Also, you may very likely not get back your money. There's essentially a non-zero chance. It's not impossible, but odds aren't great.

Also, have you tried the national scam hotline? It's only meant for scams that occur within 24 hours but maybe they have some helpful points.


On a different note, how did you initiate the conversation with Bank Islam?

Edit: Contact carousell as well with your police report. You may not get your money back, but at least it might raise a flag on their end to do something about the seller.

This post has been edited by marquis: Apr 15 2025, 08:50 AM

Go to a different branch. Get the name of the manager. He's already breaking regulations by saying "this is not a mule account". Either he is incompetent or in cahoots with the scammer. Coz by right, he can neither confirm or deny if an account is a mule account. Unless you're law enforcement.

The part I highlighted is bullshit. Maybank is the one that cannot do anything since the funds are now with Bank Islam. Unless things have changed drastically in the past year, it's ALWAYS the receiving bank that needs to make a report.

You can either go to a different branch (find a bigger one or a HQ if possible), or call in now. Tell them you want to make a report for a scam/fraud by one of their account holders. Police report made. From what I've heard before, their call centre is really quite horrid. Always pushing responsibility to others. So if you really wanna pursue this, keep on calling till you get someone that will take the report, or go to a branch and demand a manager and don't take no for an answer. They're required to make a report on their end to investigate the matter, especially with a police report.

Call BNM again and get their stance on this matter. Police won't go any further at this point because the amount is too small and frankly, unless you have connections, they've got "better" things to do. From what I remember, BNM should be able to force the bank to start the investigation since this has some element of fraud to it.

AFAIK and confirmed before, the bank NEEDS to start an investigation when one of their account holders is an alleged scammer.

Call the NSRC hotline again to get general info. You may have passed the time limit, but if you're lucky enough, someone might have an alternative for you.

You made a report with Maybank right? What did they say? Last I heard sending bank could possibly start an investigation but it won't be as powerful as the receiving bank. I might be mistaken with the sending bank not being able to do anything. Fairly recent change with the introduction of NSRC. I think they won't be able to do much if it's pass the 24h mark though.

Regardless, call BNM and ask them what else you can do after a police report has been made. It doesn't make sense for you to just twiddle your thumbs as the perpetrator is still out there.

Good luck man (and apologies if the info I have is somewhat outdated)

How long ago was this? Pre or Post NSRC?

Maybank did a good job there. Coz sender bank usually won't be able to do anything, without the receiving bank starting the process. Maybe I should ask my banker friends and see if things have changed recently.

Highlighted the problem here. Most of the time they're too lazy to do anything because it's a very involved process.

What annoys me TS' case is the receiving bank totally don't want to accept the police report and keep on pushing the responsibility to the sending bank.

If it's around that time then it's Pre-NSRC...which means Maybank really did a good job, coz most banks won't bother to initiate. Especially back then . Usually they will only take action after recipient bank contacts them to verify. Not sure how much have things changed since NSRC though.

But yes, that is the correct SOP. Receive report, account will be frozen pending result of their investigation. If they refuse to launch the investigation it's either their incompetent (best case) or protecting the account owner (Pretty sure this is considered criminal).

I personally see that as an obstruction of justice. Pretty sure BNM would be interested to know why they didn't carry out what should be routine SOP.

For some strange reason my browser didn't refresh the previous posts, so I'm just replying to the relevant people.


If you want to find the scammer, make absolutely sure you are not threatening violence. Especially in writing. Make sure non-spoken as well, in case you're recorded. Coz this could be turned around towards you. And they have proof.


Banks by law cannot disclose any personal information to a third party. Caveats apply of course, but to the average citizen, by law, they cannot reveal anything.

Got her name? Lodge a report to both HQ and BNM. She also went off script saying won't get the money. She definitely needs to give you a report number. If you didn't get her name, get her description and file a complaint. Idiots like that give a bad name to bankers in general.


Yes, this is one of the ways the bank can deal with it. They have the authority to freeze your account since they have a report in hand. Unless that report was made redundant or found to be false, they can freeze your account indefinitely since there's T&Cs when you signed up for the account. The fact that Bank Islam is doing nothing is very suspicious.

If their HQ somehow says they can't freeze the account without a court order, then that's a lie. You've made a police report. They need to investigate. Burden of proof then falls on the scammer. However if like you said you've got screen shots saying the seller will refund you, basically admitting fault, then that should be proof enough. At this point I'd pursue this case even if I'm not gonna get my money back, coz F Bank Islam for not taking this seriously.

Wanna make a bigger wave, go find your local MP. You could also weaponise social media. Or news. Basically make a big deal out of this...not for the money. I'd recommend you deleting the scammers details if you go down this road coz it might hurt your chances...since you're essentially doxxing him.

The highlight here isn't about you losing money, it's the fact the bank is enabling the scammer by not freezing his account, and refusing to carry out their responsibility.