KUALA LUMPUR: Police busted a local “Macau Scam” syndicate with the arrests of 14 people last Friday.
The suspects, aged between 17 and 36, were picked up at different condominiums between 2pm and 2.30pm in the Klang Valley in a special operation.
City police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said the operation was conducted after a 54-year-old restaurant supervisor lodged a police report on Mar 13.
“The woman received a call from a bank official and a police officer who claimed that she had a RM7,000 credit card debt,” he said today.
“The victim who denied that she had the debt was transferred to another line where a female inspector asked her to transfer her RM70,000 savings to an account given by the suspect if she did not want her account to be frozen.”
The victim realised that she was cheated when she received a call from her bank.
Bank officials told her it was a fraud. She suffered a loss of RM40,000 as the bank managed to intercept the transaction.
Mazlan said the 36-year-old main suspect was an IT expert and his accomplices included a suspect in a murder case that took place in Sungai Dua, Penang, in 2013.
“The syndicate, which has been operating for about a year, dupes the victim into thinking that their bank accounts would be frozen if they failed to pay for their debts,” he said.
“We found details of 10,000 individuals who were targeted by the syndicate. We are still investigating where they obtained the details and tracking down the remnants of the group.”
As of now, 44 cases are believed to be linked to the syndicate, with victims’ losses estimated at about RM3 million.
All suspects are remanded till Friday under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Those with information on the scam can contact the nearest police station or call the City police hotline at 03- 2115 9999.