Thursday December 15, 2011

Ministry: Be wary of forged BR1M form

KUALA LUMPUR: Applicants for the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) are not required to provide their bank account number in the forms, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai.

He said the ministry had received complaints from the public about the existence of forged BR1M forms requiring applicants to provide their bank account number.

“The Finance Ministry only wants the applicants' details such as the full name, MyKad number, telephone number and monthly income,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.

Reminding applicants to be careful, he said a syndicate had been trying to make a quick profit by falsifying BR1M forms.

“Members of the public can call the BR1M Hotline at 1800-222-500 to ascertain the personal details that must be filled so that they won't become victims of the scam,” he said.

He added that the application forms had been distributed free of charge since Saturday.

He said they could be obtained at all branches and service centres of the Inland Revenue Board, the Information and Federal Development Departments, the main lobby of the Finance Ministry and selected schools from 9am to 5pm.

Registration of BR1M applications started on Dec 10 and the last day for submission of the forms is Jan 10.

MCA treasurer-general Datuk Seri Tan Chai Ho said the forms were forged with the intention of stealing personal information.

“The fake forms have three extra columns the applicants' bank, account numbers and, if the applicants do not have a bank account, they will have to select other payment methods, which is either through Bank Simpanan or the post office.

“The real BR1M forms do not have these columns,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

Tan said it was unfortunate that the one-off RM500 aid given by the Government to help households with a monthly income of RM3,000 or less had been misused by unscrupulous people.

“The forms are available at MCA service centres. Those who qualify for the cash aid can obtain details from our service centres,” he said.

More information on BR1M can be accessed by logging on to www.treasury.gov.my

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