The Immigration Department of Malaysia has busted what appears to be the largest online scam syndicate operated by Chinese nationals in Malaysia. According to Immigration’s Facebook post, nearly 1,000 people were arrested during the raid at a building in Cyberjaya which is suspected to be the syndicate’s headquarters.
There were several videos shared online showing what appears to be people escaping arrest. The immigration department will provide more details of the raid at a press conference later today.
Phone and online scams are getting more prevalent in Malaysia. The Home Ministry recently revealed there are 1,303 love scam or parcel scam cases reported this year with total losses amounting to RM67,737,419.38. 1,070 victims were female and 230 were male. Meanwhile, Macau scams have affected 1,911 victims with a total loss of RM94,040,451.65.
Earlier this week, a 45-year-old rubber tapper had lost RM184,999 when he fell victim to a scammer that impersonated a high ranking officer from Bukit Aman. He was first contacted by a man that claimed to be a banker to settle outstanding credit card payments. Then he was ordered by a “police officer” to transfer all of his savings to other accounts to avoid losing the money on a promise that it will be returned within three days.
