GEORGE TOWN: Penang recorded more than RM112mil in losses from cybercrime cases involving online financial fraud in the first six months of this year.
Acting Penang police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said statistics showed RM70.1mil was recorded in the first six months of last year for the same crime, giving an increase of RM42.9mil.
"For the period from early January to yesterday, Penang police have successfully carried out eight raids on call centre syndicates, with the arrest of 75 individuals, consisting of 51 men and 24 women.
"Of the total arrests, 39 are locals while 36 are foreigners, and we are actively carrying out operations from time to time to combat fraudulent syndicates,” he said at a press conference at the Penang contingent police headquarters, here, on Friday (July 18).
He warned the public not to fall for calls, messages or offers which seem too good to be true, and to verify information with the authorities or official sources.
In a separate development, Comm Mohd Alwi said that police are identifying an illegal money-lending syndicate which hired two men, who were arrested, to assist in the investigation into the fire of three terrace houses in Tasek Gelugor, near here, on June 24.
He said the two men, in their 20s, were believed to have committed the arson, and investigations also found that a borrower was among the victims of the fire.
"Once the investigation by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CID) into the two detained men is complete, we will try to identify and track down the individual or Ah long (loan shark) who hired the two suspects,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 436 of the Penal Code for mischief by fire.
Earlier media reports said that three houses, five cars and four motorcycles in Taman Tasek Gelugor Utama were destroyed in a fire at 4.50 am, but the incident did not involve loss of life or injury.
