TELEMARKETER - Don't pick up the phone!

There's this one KL landline number that keep calling me at odd hours. Okay, I am exaggerating but seriously it pissed me off. The phone kept ringing when I am trying to discuss something with my boss, or while I am in the toilet. It’s a given that I am not answering that call right?

At first I thought maybe wrong number kot since I don’t really have friends living in KL who use landline number to call me – they usually used mobile phone instead. Same goes to my one and only relative living in Jalan Kuching, who doesn’t even have a landline at home.

It’s not people from HQ either, I knew their numbers so this is totally a stranger.

So I took the liberty to Google this number up, 03-7651 5500 and look what I found. A list of numbers of telemarketers and also scammers (!) which I totally don’t know about!

So thank you Mr. Christopher Teh Boon Sung for your exhaustive list which opens my eyes wide. For the complete list of telemarketers or scammers numbers, please visit his page on this website.

Just a friendly reminder while we are on this topic.


Please don’t give out your personal details so quickly over the phone, especially your IC number and more importantly your credit card number and 3 digits security code at the back of your card.

With these information, they will have free access to your credit card (and your wallet ultimately) and they will definitely suck you dry after obtaining the said info. Do not believe them even if they told you that they are from your bank and are doing security check.

One of their modus operandi was to ask you questions which seems harmless at first before moving on to what they are after. For example they will start with yes or no question like –

'Please confirm that your name is Atun binti Zauri.'

And you’ll say yes, of course, because it IS your name. Then the Q goes on,

'Your IC number is 121212-08-xxxx. Please confirm the last 4 digits please.'

From now on please be alert. If they don’t even now the last 4 digits of your IC, they might be scammers at this point, not your bank or telemarketers. And if they are asking for your bank account number or your credit card number, just terminate the call please.

Why would your own bank ask YOU for your account number or credit card number? They should have the data in their system, to think about it. This is a clear indication that they are scammers, not your bank.

In my personal experience (while in the UK), the bank do call you up if they realised that you are making huge transaction at one time (in my case, I just purchased flight ticket back to Malaysia for summer) and they don’t even ask your card number! What I can remember, they told me this (rephrased because of my deteriorating memory, hee).

'Miss Zauri, we are informed that you made a purchase of £300 using your debit card, which the last 4 digits are 7890. Is this transaction made by you?'

Or even when they are doing some update on data, they call you up and quote the last 4 digits alongside this friendly reminder,

'Please don't tell me or anyone your 3 digits security code at the back of your card please. Thank you.'

So in short, don’t tell strangers anything about your personal details even more through the phone. You never know what they are after, even if the promotions are too good to be missed. Because they are, essentially, too good to be true.



Cik Atun: Scary!