Fake Bank SMS Phishing — Maybank, CIMB & Public Bank SMS Scams

Phishing SMS messages that impersonate Maybank, CIMB, Public Bank, RHB, and other Malaysian banks remain one of the most persistent scam types in the country. These messages claim your account has been suspended, a suspicious transaction has been detected, or your card is about to expire — all designed to panic you into clicking a malicious link.

The messages often appear in the same SMS thread as legitimate bank notifications because scammers use sender ID spoofing to display the bank's name instead of a phone number.

Scammers send bulk SMS messages using spoofed sender IDs that display names like "Maybank", "CIMB", or "PBBank." The message typically warns of account suspension, unauthorized transaction, or security upgrade, and includes a shortened URL.

The link leads to a phishing website that replicates the bank's official login page with remarkable accuracy. When you enter your username and password, the scammer captures them in real time. A second page then asks for the TAC or OTP that was triggered by the scammer simultaneously attempting to log in to your actual account.

Some sophisticated variants use a technique called real-time phishing, where the scammer's system immediately uses your credentials on the real banking site, triggering a legitimate TAC that arrives on your phone. The phishing page then asks you to enter this TAC "for verification."

Do Malaysian banks send SMS with links?

No. All major Malaysian banks — Maybank, CIMB, Public Bank, RHB, and others — explicitly state they never send SMS containing clickable links. Any such SMS is a scam.

How can a scam SMS appear in the same thread as real bank messages?

Scammers use sender ID spoofing technology to display the bank's name as the sender. Your phone groups messages by sender name, placing the fake message alongside real ones.