This Penang scammer knew you were overseas before you did

A scammer called. He knew the right name. He even knew about the Korean restaurant.

That is how close Baylon Tham came to having his identity used to steal money from people who trusted him.

Tham, a Green Building Index consultant based in Penang, was celebrating his birthday in the Maldives in June when someone began impersonating him back home. The caller used a new number.

The explanation was plausible — lost wallet, lost phone, couldn’t recover them despite checking CCTV and asking stall operators at a food court.

But what made this scam different was what the caller did not do first.

No rush for money — That was the point

A female reporter who received the first call on June 11 noticed something unusual. The caller did not ask for money straight away.

Instead, he chatted. He mentioned plans to open a Korean restaurant in Brickfields. He invited her to visit when it opened the following week.

He even downplayed the stolen wallet, saying there were only a few hundred ringgit inside. The bigger concern, he said, was replacing the bank cards and identification documents.

The rapport-building worked. The caller’s voice sounded enough like Tham’s to lower her guard. He had opened with a familiar gambit — asking her to guess who was calling — which she fell for.

Only on the second call did the ask come. The caller sounded anxious this time. He said he had an urgent financial problem and needed a loan. When refused, he pleaded that any amount would do, then hung up abruptly.

The reporter tried calling back on both numbers. No answer. Then a photograph arrived from Tham’s original Malaysian number — showing him on holiday in the Maldives, completely unaware of what was happening in his name.

How did they know he was abroad?

That question still puzzles Tham.

On this trip, unlike previous ones, he had bought a local SIM card in the Maldives instead of using an eSIM. That left his Malaysian line active without a roaming connection — but still showing as on.

He also shares travel photos regularly on social media, keeping his elderly parents updated on his whereabouts.

“I travel quite frequently and share photos on social media,” he said. “This is the first time something like this has happened.”

The scammer likely combined both signals — the active Malaysian line and the social media posts — to time the impersonation while Tham was unreachable.

Scammer tactics” What to watch for

Tham said the experience revealed a clear flaw in the scammer’s approach that others can use as a warning signal.

“If I really lost my phone, I wouldn’t even remember most of my contacts’ phone numbers,” he said. “Everything is stored in the phone.”

His advice is direct: no matter who calls and no matter how urgent it sounds, verify through a trusted contact before transferring any money or sharing personal information. He said he regularly reminds his elderly relatives of this, but the call served as a reminder that anyone can be targeted.

“Scam groups are becoming more sophisticated,” he said. “People need to stay alert and always double-check.”

The restaurant opening that never happened. The wallet that was never lost. The phone that was never stolen. All of it — detail layered on detail — to build just enough trust for one ask.

No matter how convincing the story, verify first.

If you have already transferred money or suspect your account has been compromised, contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) immediately. The NSRC hotline at 997 now operates 24 hours a day and any call made to the line is recognised as an official police report — victims no longer need to visit a police station separately.

The NSRC is a joint initiative between the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, the Royal Malaysia Police, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and the country’s financial and telecommunications institutions.

When calling 997, have your personal details, the scammer’s phone number and contact details, a chronology of events, and any transaction details ready. Also call your bank’s 24-hour hotline at the same time — the sooner you report, the better the chance of intercepting any transferred funds.

In the Tham case, no money was lost. But the call was close enough. As of May 2024, Malaysians had already lost RM203.33 million to scammers — and that figure has continued to climb since.