For whatever reason, carjackers in Malaysia are getting more and more daring recently. It wasn’t too long ago that a car theft case involving a perpetrator acting as a car buyer was reported, and now, a different modus operandi has come to light – car thieves posing as bank repossessors.
A case such as this went viral on social media a week ago, where a car was asked to pull over to the side of the road by men who claim to be repossessors from a bank. The men went on to claim that the vehicle owner did not pay the car instalment, and that the bank wanted to tow it away.
Things escalated quickly after. The men blocked the vehicle with their own car, and continued to pressure the victims to step out to talk things through, even threatening to break the windows if they didn’t. Luckily enough, three DBKL officers appeared at the scene to ask what was happening, and the three men quickly backtracked on their claims and left.
The victims then lodged a police report on the incident, handing over the perpetrators’ car number plate. According to the police, there had been a few reported car theft cases involving the very same number plate (which is originally registered to a motorbike).
So, while the carjacking attempt failed, apparently it had been successful a few times before, using the very same tactic. We should all be aware that such cases are happening around us, and under broad daylight too! You can read the original Facebook post embedded here, and find out what you need to know to avoid such incidents below.
https://www.facebook.com/camillyn.bong/posts/10206131985032135
Things to be aware of to avoid this happening to you
To minimise the risk of falling into such traps, there are a few vital information that you need to know.
First of all, you should be well aware if your vehicle is indeed up for repossession by the bank. A pre-repossession notice from the bank (to inform you that it intends to repossess the vehicle) should have been served on you and your guarantor (if applicable) 21 days ahead of the actual process. A second notice will be issued 14 days after that.
So if your car is due to be repossessed, the next step is to know who exactly can or are authorised to repossess a car in Malaysia?
In Malaysia, repossessions of motor vehicles are generally carried out by registered members of the Association of Hire Purchase Companies Malaysia (AHPCM). All legit repossessors have a very specific code of conduct.
They must first show the car owner an original Repossession Order by the bank, as well as his authority card that is issued by the Kuala Lumpur Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism (KPDNKK).
Authorisation cards issued by KPDNKK have a watermark, which will not be seen if printed. Also, the person named on the card must be the same as that on the Repossession Order issued by the bank. If these terms are not met, they have no right to repossess your vehicle.
Following that, they will then need to obtain the permission of the owner to enter his or her premises to carry out the repossession process. These “repo-men” are required to appear and act in a professional manner, and not use strong arm tactics to carry out the job. Car owners will also be given enough time to clear out personal belongings that are inside the vehicle in question.
Lastly, the repossessors are immediately required to make a police report after taking possession of the vehicle, and then bring it to the place indicated by the particular bank. A notice in writing informing you that the bank has taken possession of the vehicle will be sent to you shortly after.
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Why do you blur out the number plate on the first picture, but not the picture in content, a bit redundant isn’t it? It shouldn’t be blurred anyways.
-BigBalls-
my buruk kancil fully paid off. also no one will want to steal as no value :p
There are people who steals shoes, you’d be surprised how many low life idiots who wants to steal your car. Dont give them any chances.
PDRM says crime is down year after year. PDRM is “Amanah, Bersih, Cekap”. Don’t worry, won’t happen to you.
And if it happens to you, don’t worry, waste half a day to make a police report (but as you can see here, the criminals still not caught, still doing it).
Or if you don’t have half a day to make police report, then don’t report. So that PDRM can say even less crime, cos less reports.
/sarcasm
Making a report in malaysia is the slowest process ever. You take 15 minutes to report, you take another 15 minutes for them to arrive, even if the police station is less than 1 km away. Its so fcking pathetic.
They have no right to tow if the car is in a private building. If it is on public roads, if you’re driving they can’t force you out.
Also if you’ve defaulted the payment, bank will call and inform you before such precedure will be taken. Do not stop and negotiate with them, unless if you’re really blacklisted and you need to nego negolah.
Only people who cannot afford to repay loan will fall for this trap. If there are a lot of this kind of trap. That means a lot of people had financial problems ???
not really. my family fell to this scam in 1999. my brother was the driving, on the way to pick up our mother when he was stopped. the guys showed some papers and stuffs, asked my brother to take his belongings and went off with the car.
he was 18 at the time, and didnt know if the car was behind payment or anything. called our dad, and he said the car was all paid for. we then went to the police. never saw the car again.
mind you, this was before every malaysian could afford a mobile phone.
Maybe some Indian reader can provide some insight here?
Always beware of occupant driving vehicles with full tinted windows, there is a reason why they want to hide their identity.
Hmmm it seems that a lot of people do not know the procedures of repossession hence become victims of this theft.
I also see an increasing need to install dashboard cameras in our vehicles to increase our safety…even better if you can install another camera to cover your rear end. Sigh need to spend more because our crap authorities are not making enough rounds on the road to protect us.
This happened to a close relative as well. Fortunately, also checked with the bank and confirmed not even a single default payment. The criminals leave after manage to drive to police station.
The funny thing is, in both cases, the would-be carjackers claim to be from RHB bank and proven the correct car loan bank (I think even in this case, since he needs to call his brother).
If I’m not mistaken, it is very hard to ascertain the bank giving the loan just by looking at the car, unless careful planning and casing are involved.
Since this seems like an opportunistic crime, this might suggest an informer in RHB that leaks car loan data to these criminals, on demand over a phone call.
If this is the case, then there is a serious data breach in RHB and we have to assume all loanee are at risk.
I encountered this , about 15 years ago. I was having a meal when I saw some men trying to tow my car away. I confronted them and they said that they were reprocessing the car as I defaulted on repayment. I told them that I bought the car with cash. But they showed me some photocopy of a bank with my car numbers on it.
They told me that they were just earning a living by towing the car and demanded that I pay them so that I can go to the bank to sort it out. I refused and they became aggressive then I called some friends. After some people gathered around , they left.
I wondered if the police can do anything since it is a kind of private dispute ? If they were at the scence , they would have to spend a better part of the day calling up the bank , verifying the issue. Could they afford to do this as very offen the reprocessing is legitimate? And it is not their job !
So , just hope that some people were around when these people try to steal your car. And , make lots of noise !
most of malaysian police are full of shit..lazy ass uneducated low life mtf..but not all..maybe from 1 million theres 1 who is good..