A GROUP of Malaysians has reportedly been lured overseas with promises of high-paying jobs, only to be held hostage by crime syndicates and forced to carry out online scams.
Is this true?
Verdict:
TRUE
According to MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong, several Malaysians were being held by armed men in a compound in Cambodia and forced to work at an online scam call centre.
Chong said he had received more than 50 complaints involving similar cases since Chinese New Year.
"We are working with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and embassies abroad to bring these victims back safely.
"The victims send me pictures of themselves, sometimes battered and bruised, pleading to be rescued," he said, urging the public to be cautious when offered jobs overseas with the promise of high pay.
Chong said the syndicates even used agents to demand large ransoms from family members of the captives to secure their release.
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