KUALA LUMPUR: All banks nationwide have been urged to immediately inspect and secure automated teller machines (ATM) to curb hacking of such machines.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) secretary-general Datuk Paul Selva Raj said if action was not taken, banks could face a loss of confidence by customers to save with such institutions.
"The case is serious as most Malaysians are bank customers.
"Banks need to take such crimes seriously as they could spread," he told Bernama here today.
On Saturday, a syndicate believed to be from Latin America, ran off with RM1.271 million from Affin Bank Berhad and Affin Islamic Bank Berhad in Johor, Melaka and Selangor.
Its members are believed to have used a telephone SIM card with other sophisticated telephony equipment.
Prior to this, there had been cases of stealing money from ATMs in the country through the cloning of ATM cards.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak economics lecturer Prof Dr Shazali Abu Mansor said there should be no compromise when it comes bank security as it not only affects the confidence of consumers but also to the nation's competitive edge.
He stressed that banks are important institutions to project a positive image of the country to atract tourists and foreign investors.
In this regard, he proposed that banks in the country scrutinise their respective security systems and move to more sophisticated ones in line with current technology.
"Maybe banks need to change the system or security code every other year to deter criminals.
"What is important is that security must continuously be be maintained, he said.
Malaysian Islamic Consumer Association (PPIM) secretary-general Datuk Dr Maa'mor Osman sais conventional banking counter services should be maintained as compared to using ATMs.
"Today, banks are encouraging customers to use faster and easier systems such as ATMs and Internet banking but banks should maintain the conventional over the counter service as it could be safer with less risks," he said.
National Consumer Complaints Centre board member Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the theft was a lesson to all banks to tighten their security.
"Banks should be more responsible," he said.
Meanwhile, the Malaysia Consumers Advisors president M.Varatharajoo said bank must be more responsible concerning ATM security and also proposed that police monitor ATMs round-the-clock especially in high risk areas. - BERNAMA