KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — Maybank denied today that its cybersecurity system had been compromised after a Sarawakian man claimed he lost RM1 million to a supposed mobile phone scam by the "Macau syndicate”.

The bank said the fund was safely returned to the account holder, a businessman by the name Lee, after it carried out an investigation. The case is now considered "closed”.

"Maybank refers to the recent incident involving a customer that allegedly claimed to have had funds taken out of his account without his authorisation,” the bank’s corporate communication said in a statement.

"The bank would like to confirm that investigations were carried out where the transactions were effectively traced and monies returned safely to the customer. Findings also revealed that our systems were not compromised,” it added.

"Meanwhile, Maybank has already engaged with the customer and the matter is now closed”.

DAP politician Michael Kong on Monday held a press conference to highlight a recent case of a businessman who claimed he lost RM1 million to a Macau syndicate over the weekend.

The victim, a Mr. Lee, alleged the unauthorised transfers from his Maybank account happened after he got an anonymous phone call from someone who claimed to be from Pos Laju.

The businessman said he immediately lodged a complaint with the bank and lodged a police report.

Maybank did not state whether or not the unauthorised fund had taken place but insisted that it had placed "strong cybersecurity and online protection measures to safeguard the security, privacy and integrity of its customers’ data and transactions.”

"Customers are constantly reminded to remain vigilant on the various scam tactics as well as not to click on any links to avoid falling prey to scammers,” it added.

Phone-based financial scams have been on the rise since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when most of the world were locked inside their homes.

Bank Negara Malaysia has beefed up efforts to raise awareness and have directed commercial banks to tighten their cybersecurity.