The bank is the first in the country to provide customers the ability to suspend accounts, cards if they suspect being scammed
OCBC BANK (Malaysia) Berhad (OCBC Bank) has introduced the ‘OCBC Kill Switch’ on Dec 21, which enables customers to immediately freeze their banking accounts and cards via self-service interactive voice response (IVR) if they think they have been scammed.
The 24/7 service is aimed at safeguarding customers against scams and is in line with Bank Negara Malaysia’s call to further strengthen measures against financial scams.
According to OCBC Bank managing director and head of Consumer Financial Services Anne Leh Geok Ming, the bank has been working to protect its customers against online scams and the OCBC Kill Switch is yet another initiative toward this end.
Leh: 'In the event a customer recognises that they have fallen prey to a scam, they can now put in motion the first important step of freezing their accounts far more quickly than ever before.'
“We have been closely following the rise in scam-related banking transactions to close the gaps that fraudsters look to exploit,” said Leh.
“This has given rise to the OCBC Kill Switch, which enables the customer to take charge. So, in the event a customer recognises that they have fallen prey to a scam, they can now put in motion the first important step of freezing their accounts far more quickly than ever before.
“Once the ‘OCBC Kill Switch’ is activated, no outgoing transactions – whether they're done digitally, via an ATM or at branches – can be made.
“Even recurring or pre-arranged fund transfers will be disabled. This will enable us to put everything on hold while an investigation is carried out,” she added.
The ‘OCBC Kill Switch’ enables customers to immediately freeze their current, savings and fixed deposit accounts, recurring charges and standing instructions and card transactions at the ATM and credit or debit cards physically and digitally.
Customers can activate the ‘OCBC Kill Switch’ by calling the Bank’s contact centre at 03-8317 5000 and pressing '8'.
Leh said, “Our Customer Service Executives will help affected customers block access to their compromised bank account or cards and issue new cards.
“Only our bank staff can deactivate the ‘OCBC Kill Switch’, and this will only be carried out after receiving verified instructions from the customer.
“Once the ‘OCBC Kill Switch’ is deactivated, the account will return to normal and all prior settings, including Giro arrangements and future-dated fund transfers, will be reinstated.”
Following is a step-by-step guide to activating the ‘OCBC Kill Switch’:
Customers can activate the ‘OCBC Kill Switch’ without human intervention by calling the OCBC Contact Centre at 03-8317 5000.
They will then be prompted to follow the procedures below.
> Press 8 to temporarily block their account.
> Enter their 12-digit NRIC number followed by the hash key.
> Enter their 16-digit credit or debit card number.
> Press 1 to confirm card number.
> Press 1 to confirm the account or card suspension.
> Press 0 at any time to speak with a Customer Service Executive, if necessary.
For more information on the ‘OCBC Kill Switch’, customers can visit the OCBC Bank website at www.ocbc.com.my and then navigate to the Help and Support page under Personal Banking.
Alternatively, customers can also call the following numbers for assistance: Personal Banking 03-8317 5000, Premier Banking 03-8315 4288, OCBC Al-Amin Personal Banking 03-8314 9310.
