IPOH: A dozen Chinese nationals suspected of operating an online love scam call centre that preyed on victims in China were arrested in raids at two houses here.
Aged between 25 and 40, the men were arrested during simultaneous raids carried out by the Ipoh district commercial crime investigation division at about 4.15pm on July 16, said Perak police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin.
The raids were conducted at houses in Taman Ipoh Selatan and Medan Pengkalan Setia following intelligence on online fraud activities.
“Preliminary investigations and conversation scripts recovered from seized laptops indicate that the syndicate was operating an online love scam call centre.
“The syndicate is believed to have been operating from both premises since June and targeted victims in China,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Comm Mohd Alwi said the syndicate used Telegram and WeChat, together with local internet services, to carry out the scams.
They would put up attractive profile pictures, which were fake, before randomly contacting people online.
“The victims were then lured into purported trading transactions with promises of high returns before being instructed to make repeated payments,” he said.
Among the items seized were 158 mobile phones, six laptops, five Wi-Fi routers, five conversation scripts, 15 SIM cards, three USB charging stations and three wire connectors, with the total value of the items estimated at RM34,500.
“All 12 suspects have been remanded for three days until July 19.”
“The case is being investigated under Sections 420/120B of the Penal Code, as well as Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act,” he added.
Comm Mohd Alwi said Perak police would continue taking proactive action against online scam call centre syndicates.
