by DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Nov 6: A man who fell victim to an online scam has allegedly been unfairly blacklisted by financial institutions, effectively cutting him off from essential banking services despite being the complainant in the case.
In a statement today, special assistant to Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, Michael Kong, said the case highlighted how scam victims could end up being “punished twice”, first by the scammer, and again by the very institutions meant to protect them.
“Financial institutions have rightly been taking stern action against mule accounts and those associated with online scams. However, in the process, innocent victims are also at risk of being unfairly punished, as seen in a recent case brought to my attention,” he said.
“Financial institutions must exercise greater care and fairness in differentiating between scammers, mule account holders, and victims of scams. Otherwise, trust in the banking system itself will erode,” he stressed.
In the case of the scam victim being blacklisted, Kong explained that the victim, identified only as Mr Sim (not his real name), a watch collector, had purchased a watch advertised on Facebook for RM630. However, after making payment, the seller became uncontactable, prompting Mr Sim to lodge a police report.
“Instead of being treated as a victim, his bank account with Maybank was unilaterally flagged and subsequently closed,” Kong said.
“When queried, Maybank cited Clause 11 of its Terms and Conditions Governing Banking Accounts, which allows the bank to close accounts with 14 days’ notice. Despite being informed that Mr Sim was not a scammer nor was his account ever used as a mule account, but that he was, in fact, a victim, Maybank refused to entertain his appeal.”
As a result, Kong said, Mr Sim has reportedly been blacklisted across financial institutions, preventing him from opening new accounts or even obtaining merchant services.
“Even his company’s application for a card machine also rejected by Ambank because of this blacklist status. He has not only lost money to a scam but is also now forced to endure long-term financial exclusion due to circumstances beyond his control,” Kong added.
He described the situation as “shocking and unjust,” urging banks and regulators to apply more balanced measures when handling scam-related investigations.
Currently, Kong is assisting Mr Sim in addressing this matter, including raising it directly with Bank Negara Malaysia. – DayakDaily
