Alert! Alert! Regional scam-capital Kuala Lumpur has just been hit with the latest digital falsehood, and this time it has to do with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Malaysia’s pension reserve.
Thousands received messages via SMS, WhatsApp and on social media, telling them that their EPF accounts would be locked within 24 hours, unless they provided a mobile phone number.
Popular EPF scams can take on various lives. In one, after getting a phone number confirmation, the syndicate will call fund-holders and persuade them to cash out their savings, in return for a fee. Others see them calling victims, and eliciting enough personal information to submit falsified documents, draining the holder’s account.
To clarify, if you want to cash out your EPF, you can deal with them directly, free of charge.
It goes without saying, but don’t respond to these dubious messages, and please, don’t give them any personal details.
