ASNB ADVISES INVESTORS TO BE WARY OF SCAMS
Do not divulge personal details or investment info to unknown parties, warns ASNB
AMANAH Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB), a subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and a fund manager of Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB), has advised investors to be vigilant and not to divulge personal details or investment information to any unknown parties.
ASNB chief executive officer and executive director Mohammad Hussin cautioned investors not to entertain any calls on investment details, even if the caller claimed to be a bank officer or ASNB officer.
“If an investor receives a suspicious call, he or she is advised not to panic and not to make any transactions involving withdrawal of ASB or other ASNB unit trusts,” he said in a statement.
“As an unit trust fund manager with more than 229 billion units in circulation owned by more than 13.4 million unitholders, ASNB is always committed to protecting investors’ money by using the best security measures. However, investors are advised to be aware of syndicates such as the ‘Macau Scam’, as ASNB is not able to reimburse the money withdrawn by investors after being affected by the syndicates.”
PNB president and group chief executive Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad had previously presented a certificate and token of appreciation of 1,000 units of Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 to an employee who had prevented an ASB investor from being tricked by the “Macau Scam” syndicate.
In the incident, the investor received a call from someone claiming to be a bank officer who told the victim he was involved in money laundering and instructed him to transfer RM120,000 to avoid legal proceedings. The investor panicked and went directly to the nearby ASNB agent to withdraw all his ASB investment funds to be transferred to a new account, as instructed by the caller.
The investor was fortunate as his distress was observed by the ASNB employee, who took the initiative to ask the victim for clarification and consequently reported the incident to the police.
The modus operandi of the “Macau Scam” has the caller posing as a bank officer and trying to trick victims by saying they are involved in money laundering and drug trafficking.
Investors should immediately contact an ASNB agent at the customer relationship management department by calling 03-20573000 or contact the police directly to request for a review or lodge a report.