Maybank has been ordered to pay RM166,000 to a customer after a court found the bank negligent in a fraud case involving unauthorised online transfers from her accounts.
The case, reported by the New Straits Times, involved Chan Yan Li, whose funds were moved out through several transactions in 2021.
The court heard that RM166,000 was moved from Chan’s housing loan account into her savings account before being sent to several third-party accounts between 26 June and 2 July that year.
Chan discovered the transactions on 15 July 2021 after checking her Maybank2u account and later lodged a police report.
She denied authorising the transfers and told the court that she did not receive any Transaction Authorisation Code messages on her registered mobile number.
Court Flags Unusual Transaction Pattern
Maybank denied liability, arguing that the transactions were made using Chan’s correct username and password. The bank also maintained that TAC codes and transaction alerts had been sent to her registered number, and that there was no issue with its Maybank2u system.
It further argued that Chan’s banking details may have been compromised due to her own negligence.
Judge Maimoonah Aid found that the transaction pattern should have triggered further checks by the bank.
The court noted that Chan was not a frequent online banking user and mainly used Maybank2u for credit card payments and occasional transfers.
The judge also cited inconsistencies between Maybank’s TAC records and Digi phone records produced during the trial.
Some transfers were made at unusual hours, including around 5am, while several mule account holders linked to the transactions had pleaded guilty in separate criminal cases.
The court ordered Maybank to pay RM166,000 in damages and RM15,000 in costs.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Malaysia, based on images by Ahmed Abouelleil via Unsplash, and
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