KUALA LUMPUR: Police have crippled 112 online scam syndicates operating through call centres and arrested 932 individuals in a nationwide crackdown conducted over 13 days last month.
Bukit Aman CCID director Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said 153 raids were conducted during Ops Magpie 01/2026, which ran simultaneously nationwide from Oct 19 to 31, exceeding the initial target of 100 raids by 53%.
He said the operation also involved 650 proactive inspections of premises through coordinated efforts by the Bukit Aman CCID and police contingents nationwide.
"Of the 932 individuals arrested, 106 were Malaysians while the remaining 826 were foreigners. The arrests involved 796 men and 136 women," he said at a press conference here on Thursday (Nov 12).
Breaking down the arrests by nationality, Comm Rusdi said Chinese nationals accounted for the highest number at 538, followed by Vietnamese (93), Taiwanese (40), Indonesians (36), Japanese (21), Pakistanis (18), and Myanmar and Filipino nationals with 14 each.
“In terms of locations, 106 raids, or 69.28%, were conducted at condominium residences, while 34 were at residential premises, eight at resorts or hotels, and five at office buildings, shoplots and warehouses.
“Preliminary analysis also identified 136 records of scam modus operandi, with non-existent investment schemes and love scams recording 27 cases each. These were followed by phone scams (25), online gambling (16) and non-existent job offers (11),” he added.
Comm Rusdi said the syndicates were also found to be targeting victims across international borders, with 130 of the 144 recorded target-country entries involving victims overseas, while the remaining 14 were in Malaysia.
"China recorded the highest number of targets with 62 entries, followed by the United States (12), Vietnam and Indonesia with seven each, and Japan and Hong Kong with six each," he said.
The operation also resulted in the seizure of 2,058 mobile phones, 433 laptops or tablets, 161 computers or monitors, 112 routers or modems, 40 passports or visas and seven vehicles, along with various documents and related equipment.
Cash amounting to RM102,635 was also seized.
He said 117 investigation papers were opened following the operation, with 70 still under investigation and 45 having proceeded to the prosecution stage.
"Of those arrested, 809 were identified as customer service personnel or operators, while another 70 were supervisors or group leaders," he said.
Comn Rusdi said investigations were ongoing to identify the masterminds, operational coordinators and individuals responsible for managing the syndicates' finances and providing them with facilities.
“This includes digital forensic analysis, as well as examining communication records and financial transactions,” he said.
He also advised the public against readily trusting calls, messages or investment offers from unknown individuals, and urged them not to share their banking details, passwords, one-time passwords (OTPs) or transaction authorisation codes (TACs).
Those who suspect they have fallen victim to a scam should immediately contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 and lodge a police report.
