KUALA LUMPUR: Four men have been detained in connection with a text messaging scam bearing the name of a telecommunications company.
The syndicate would use a base transceiver station (BTS) to generate the fake messages to send to mobile phone users, according to Bukit Aman's Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID).
Its director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said an investigation was launched after a 30-year-old man lodged a police report earlier this month.
"The victim lost about RM1,500 after receiving a text, supposedly from a telco, saying he had collected enough points to redeem for an item.
"He was asked to click on a link and fill in his banking details as well as the one-time password (OTP)," he told a press conference at CCID headquarters here on Tuesday (Nov 26).
After receiving the victim's report, CCID conducted an integrated operation with the cooperation of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the telco concerned on Nov 19, he said.
"Raids were conducted in several locations in the Klang Valley to curb the spread of such scam text messages using fake BTS technology," he said.
Comm Ramli said four local men aged between 39 and 46 were detained and several items including three batteries, two power inverters, two GSM modules, two modems and two sports utility vehicles (SUVs) were seized.
"Those detained were the syndicate's supervisor, assistant supervisor, driver and operator of the fake BTS.
"They were paid RM300 daily and... (drove) around with the fake BTS device in highly populated areas.
"Once there, they would switch on the device (and) send fake text messages automatically to the mobile phones of those in that area.
"The texts appear legitimate and confuse victims," he added.
The syndicate is believed to be responsible for at least 12 cases involving RM116,271 in losses, Comm Ramli said.
"We are investigating under Section 4(1) of the Computer Crimes Act 1997.
"We believe the arrests have saved about 32,000 telco users nationwide from being duped by such fake messages.
"Collaboration with the MCMC will continue in the future to curb the threat of cybercrimes," he added.
