KUALA LUMPUR: If you receive notifications asking you to submit personal details through an APK file to fulfil your parcel delivery, ignore it immediately as it is a scam attempt.

Pos Malaysia operations director Zaini Yahman said this was among the tactics used by scammers in carrying out parcel scams, adding that the notifications could be sent through emails, phone calls or even SMS.

Among the red flags are being asked for one’s personal information or bank account number, or being sent an APK file, he said.

“Scammers will say there are insufficient details on the parcel for it to be delivered.

“An APK file will also be inserted in the message and the victim will be asked to provide their details there.

“Once a consumer clicks on that link, it will cause serious problems,” he told The Star on the sidelines of the Memorandum of Understanding signing between Pos Malaysia and Whoscall yesterday.

An APK file format is a malicious software that allows the scammer to hack your phone and remotely access your banking information. This then allows the scammer to control your phone from afar and perform unauthorised transactions.

Zaini said parcel scams were not limited to any groups, with both the young and old being targeted, based on Pos Malaysia’s findings.

Any official messages from Pos Malaysia are only to notify the customers of their parcel delivery status, he said.

The attached link also only directs to its official website.

“Even then, the link does not ask you to input any information. If the link leads to anything else, do not entertain it,” he added.

Zaini advised those with doubts on the authenticity of calls supposedly from Pos Malaysia to contact its hotline at 1300 300 300.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said a phone or parcel scam occurred when someone posing as a representative of a courier company or the authorities called a victim and claimed something was wrong with a parcel under their name.

“The caller would claim that either the packages were prohibited contraband or there was a problem with the parcel.

“The scammer would then inform the victim that in order to settle the matter, the person must transfer funds to an account, often a mule account,” he told reporters at the event.

Comm Ramli said neither the authorities nor companies like Pos Malaysia ever dealt with any investigation over the phone.

“Do not be duped by such tactics,” he added.

He also urged the public to use the SemakMule portal to verify the status of bank accounts and telephone numbers that may be involved in fraudulent activities.

“Verification of bank account status and telephone numbers can then be used to consider the level of security for transfers or payments,” he said.

This portal, which was introduced in 2018, can be accessed via https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my.

So far, more than 195,000 bank accounts and 164,000 scammer phone numbers had been listed in the portal, Comm Ramli noted.

The police, through a joint effort with the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission as well as financial institutions and the telecommunications industry, have established the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC).

Set up in October 2022, the NSRC functions as an operation centre to coordinate rapid responses to online financial fraud, particularly cases occurring within a 24-hour period.

The NSRC can be contacted at 997 and operates daily from 8am to 8pm.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/08/13/pos-malaysia-beware-of-parcel-scam-using-apk-files