QuickCheck: Are ‘unclaimed money’ links used to steal personal information?

In early 2000, the Accountant General's Department launched the Electronic Government Unclaimed Money Information System (eGumis), a website where the public may check if they are owed unclaimed money, and claim it.

According to Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan when he was deputy finance minister last year, as of October 2022, there was RM11.6bil in unclaimed money in the system.

He also said that the government was looking at developing an app for the public to recover unclaimed money.

Recently, some people have been receiving private messages with links offering to help and guide them to get the unclaimed money.

Are these links legitimate?

Verdict:

FALSE

The Accountant General's Department, in a Facebook post, has advised the public not to disclose any personal information through fake links regarding unclaimed money.

These links could take victims to malicious sites designed to steal personal information, it warned.

The department advised those who are interested to check if they have any unclaimed money to go directly to the eGumis website at https://egumis.anm.gov.my/.