MELAKA: Police here have busted an international job scam syndicate targeting victims from a Caribbean nation, arresting nine individuals including four women.
State acting police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Md Nazri Zawawi said a team from the Melaka Commercial Crime Investigation Department conducted a raid at a condominium in Taman Kota Laksamana on February 7.
"The suspects were six locals and three Chinese nationals, aged between 26 and 43 years," he said on Monday (Feb 10).
SAC Md Nazri said the syndicate used a modus operandi of advertising fake job opportunities on Facebook.
Victims who expressed interest were then contacted by syndicate members through WhatsApp or Telegram.
He noted that the victims were instructed to complete 32 tasks via a website, purportedly to increase reviews for hotels and movies in the Caribbean nation.
"After completing the first task, victims were persuaded to continue and required to make payment transactions to the syndicate."
"Each task promised commissions of USD70 (RM311) to USD100 (RM445). However, after making the payments, victims were not compensated as promised," he said.
SAC Nazri said the syndicate was estimated to have generated a monthly profit of RM54,000 from its fraudulent activities.
During the raid, police confiscated various items valued at approximately RM30,000, including 49 mobile phones of various brands.
SAC Md Nazri said all nine suspects have been remanded for four days until Tuesday (Feb 11) to assist in investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment, whipping, and a fine upon conviction.
He also urged locals to be cautious of such scams and to verify the authenticity of job offers before engaging with potential employers.
