Since September 23, 2025, I’ve been receiving several calls from an official Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLBB) number — at least according to my call-filtering app. Yet every time I answered, the line was silent or disconnected almost immediately.
Concerned that I might have missed something important, I tried calling back. Instead of reaching a person, I was routed to a DTMF-based self-service system with no option to speak to a representative.
I checked my bank accounts online and found nothing unusual. To be safe, I also contacted my assigned Customer Relations Officer (CRO), who confirmed that all my accounts were secure. Still, I asked her to investigate who had been calling me from that number, just in case. She said the call was from a general line and it might be difficult to get the actual person who called, but she agreed to look into it and promised to get back to me — but a week went by with no follow-up. I assumed either there was nothing to worry about or she had simply forgotten.
Then, on September 29, 2025, the same number appeared on my screen again. This time, I managed to answer quickly enough for the call to go through.
A robotic voice greeted me with a belated “happy birthday,” followed by a pitch for a new savings scheme offering a higher-than-usual interest rate. I let the call run on speaker, and it enthusiastically continued for about five minutes.
Eventually, it asked: “Are you interested in knowing more?”
I stayed silent.
“Are you interested in knowing more?”
I maintained my silence.
“Are you interested in knowing more?”
Now I want to know how many times it would ask the same despite having no feedback from my end.
I counted ten before it ended the call with the following:
“I am sorry but I think the connection is bad. I am going to hang up now.”
Next time, I might try giving the briefest possible replies from my end just to see how far it would go.
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