Phoong (right) and Lee showing the bank statements.
KOTA KINABALU: A 33-year-old woman who claimed of being scammed of RM15,000 in online shopping, has sought help from Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe.
“Ms Lee requested assistance from me as she has reported to related authorities such as the Bank Negara Malaysia, PDRM and others.
“She is worried of her loss and the authorities have not given her any update on the progress after six months of waiting,” said Phoong in a statement on Tuesday.
Lee told Phoong he was contacted by a bank’s customer service on the 28th of November 2020.
“I was informed that six unusual transactions were done without my consent. Five transactions of RM2,700 each and one transaction of RM1,080 were made, a total of approximately RM15,000 was transferred,” shared Lee.
The bank then froze Lee’s account until further investigation is made. She also filed an official complaint to an online shopping platform.
Phoong urged the authorities to follow up with the investigation progress and reveal the truth to Lee.
“Lee is very anxious regarding the issue as it has been six months since she filed her report. I hope the authorities would take action regarding this,” said the DAP elected representative.
Lee hopes that by exposing her case to the public, it would raise public awareness regarding related scams.
“I have tried multiple times appealing to the online shopping platform management but they consider the transactions valid. I hope that the public take note and prevent any similar incidents from happening again.
“I never tied my card with the platform and I did not receive any OTP from the bank. It is unfair that I have to continue to bear the interest rate charged for the payments,” said Lee.
Phoong, who is the DAPSY Sabah chief, stated that the economic recession has already greatly affected Lee. He urged the bank to temporarily suspend the interest charges.
“Lee has been greatly affected by the pandemic, the interest fee charged for a transaction she never made is unfair and a burden to her.
“I urge for investigation into the issue as well to allow Lee to know when, how, who made the payments on that particular day,” urged Phoong
He also warned the public to be extra cautious as more scams are happening throughout the pandemic.
“The government must introduce an initiative to protect the public from such scams in the future as similar cases continue to rise amid the pandemic,” he said.