More than 700 seniors and youth including those from three schools, a community resident and an old folks home are now better equipped to safeguard themselves against online scams thanks to a series of educational sessions conducted by staff of the Legal, Digital Banking and Service Transformation units of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (OCBC Bank).

The schools involved were Foon Yew High School in Johor Bharu, Sekolah Menengah Chung Hua in Port Dickson and Jit Sin High School in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. The community residents who attended were from Ixora Residences at Bandar Seri Coalfields, and the elderly from Rejuvenate Elderly Care Centre.

The sessions are part of the Bank’s commitment to equip as many people as it can to be vigilant against scams as it seeks to create a lasting positive impact on the communities in which it operates.

According to En Dzulkifly Aminuddin, Head of Service Transformation, OCBC Bank, the idea of zeroing in on residences was mooted when he and his colleagues reached a point of utter sadness seeing how people from all walks of life could so easily fall prey to scammers. So, they set out to provide a means by which the community, young and old alike, could gain a better understanding of how scammers operate and ultimately be the force themselves to prevent scams from happening to them and their loved ones.

“We conducted our research and based on concrete data, we decided that we needed to spend the requisite hour per session providing them with clear examples of how the most rampant online scams take place, especially online jobs scams and impersonation scams.

En Dzulkifly Aminuddin, Head of Service Transformation, OCBC Bank sharing tips on how to avoid being scammed

“We reminded them that banks and the authorities do not ask for banking credentials and to be mindful not to click on any dodgy links from random messages. At the end of the day, it is important that we work towards countering scams together as a community and do our best to remain vigilant,” he said.

A senior citizen encapsulated what was in the minds of the participants, “We are always with our handphones these days and we do a lot of shopping online too. It was a beneficial session, and I would like to thank the OCBC Bank staff for taking the time to impart their insights to us on the dangers of online scams. We now have a better sense of how we can protect ourselves.”

OCBC Bank’s Head of Legal Ms Tan Kiat Jane (centre) together with the students after her session on scam awareness

OCBC Bank’s Head of Legal Ms Tan Kiat Jane who spoke at the sessions conducted in the schools said, “Online scams are on the upward trend. OCBC Bank developed this set of talks to help to increase public awareness on online scams. As many victims are young people looking for part-time work, they can be vulnerable to scams that prey on job seekers. We hope that through this talk, we have been able to protect them so they can in turn share the tips with their family and friends as well.”

En Dzulkifly added that the session was a vital part of the Bank’s overarching commitment to sustainability.

“Through our 90 years of existence, OCBC Bank has strived to enable individuals, SMEs and businesses to build a more sustainable future. It is important that the youths and seniors here are altogether more aware of online scams now. It was a delight for my team and I – together with our colleagues from the Legal and Digital Banking units – to have conducted these sessions and we hope to continue with these meaningful sessions moving forward," he said.