Selangor: Selangor police have crippled several fraud syndicates, including love scams, phone scams and adult video subscription scams, following the arrest of 40 individuals in separate raids on five call centre premises across the state.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Selangor police chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar stated that the raids were conducted by the Selangor Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), alongside the Commercial Crime Investigation Divisions of the Sungai Buloh, Shah Alam, Kajang, and Subang Jaya district police headquarters between August 18 and 25. The arrests included three local men as well as 32 foreign men and five foreign women.
Shazeli revealed that the raids led to the dismantling of five call centre premises used by the syndicates to execute fraudulent activities targeting overseas victims. Those apprehended acted as customer service operators, and various communication equipment and related items valued at RM165,000 were seized during the operations.
He further explained that the syndicates, which became active mid-year, rented residential properties such as condominiums, bungalows, and terrace houses to evade detection. Preliminary investigations revealed a new tactic involving the use of police identification cards and photographs of foreign police officers to deceive victims.
In the first raid in Sungai Buloh on August 18, police arrested 10 foreign men who impersonated police officers to defraud Japanese nationals through phone scams. The second operation on August 19 in Bukit Rimau involved an adult video subscription scam targeting Chinese nationals via a website.
The third raid on August 20 in Kajang resulted in the arrest of three Malaysian men and four foreign men involved in phone scams targeting Japanese nationals using the Line application and 'Swapface' technology. Subsequent raids in Sungai Buloh and Subang Jaya on August 24 and 25 uncovered love scams targeting victims from Hong Kong and Taiwan through the QQ and Telegram applications.
All foreign suspects, believed to have entered the country using tourist passes, have been remanded to aid investigations under sections 420 and 120B of the Penal Code. The police also confiscated numerous mobile phones, computer sets, laptops, routers, vehicles, and books believed to contain scam scripts.
Shazeli urged the public to report any fraudulent call centres operating in residential areas or commercial premises to facilitate prompt enforcement actions.