JOHOR BARU: These imposters would pretend to be in distress, calling people to send them money to help them.
They would impersonate as someone in need of assistance and contact all their friends in Singapore for financial help.
It is learnt that the seven men, in their 20s and 40s, have been detained in the past few days after they were found operating from two apartments in Iskandar Puteri.
The arrests meant that police have smashed another gang that ran “call centres” which targetted victims from Malaysia and Singapore.
This is the third major gang nabbed in recent weeks in which the culprits had rented apartments in affluent areas to be used as these “call centres”.
To date, police have arrested more than 20 people in a series of raids around the city.
More than a dozen mobile phones and other items have been seized from the suspects.
It is learnt that police were in touch with their counterparts in Singapore to ascertain the financial losses or the people who had fallen prey to these gangs.
When contacted, a Bukit Aman official confirmed the arrests, saying that officers from the Commercial Crimes Investigations Department were investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
The official advised the public, especially retirees and people of older ages, to be wary about interacting with people whom they have not met.
In an unrelated case, a shop supervisor in Muar resorted to pawning her family’s gold items to raise funds for her “bail” after she was constantly harassed and intimidated by syndicate members.
The woman, who is in her 20s, had received a call from someone claiming to be a Shopee Malaysia agent.
Apparently, the caller told the woman that the beauty products she was selling online did not have approval from the Health Ministry.
Sources said that the woman initially was unbothered about the call as she did not have the online business as claimed.
“However, she was told to lodge a report online to clear her name. The caller then passed the line to a policeman from Penang, who after getting all her details, said that there was a red alert on her,” the source said.
The source said that the woman panicked when the policeman said that there was an arrest warrant for her over charges related to money laundering and drugs.
“She was then asked to keep in touch with the police every three hours via WhatsApp before another higher ranking officer contacted her, asking her to get ready some bail money,” the source said.
It is learnt that the woman then pawned several pieces of her family’s gold belongings at three pawnshops, which got her about RM100,000.
She deposited the money into several accounts.
The woman only realised she was duped when the syndicate kept on harassing her for more money.
She then lodged a police report.
Muar OCPD Asst Comm Raiz Mukhliz Azman Aziz said that woman was targeted by five different individuals.
The case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, he said.
“We urge the public to verify information they receive via the ‘SemakMule’ website before making any financial transfers, or to use the ‘Whoscall’ app to reduce the risk of being scammed,” he advised in a statement.
