00:00They were all recruited through social media and promised hefty salaries before being persuaded
00:09to fly to Malaysia and enter the country as foreign tourists. Once here, they were quickly
00:15moved into luxury apartments in the city and trained to become scammers, preying on victims
00:20in China through fake investment and cryptocurrency schemes. They would then impersonate customer
00:26service officers, offering investment advice to unsuspecting victims, mostly retirees, who
00:33would end up losing all their savings in various kinds of scams.
00:39A police official said the syndicate's activities were uncovered when officers from the Commercial
00:45Crimes Investigation Unit raided at least three illegal call centers in Taman Molec and Johor
00:51Baru, detaining twenty foreign nationals. These included fourteen Chinese nationals, four
00:57Vietnamese and two Myanmar nationals. Two of the suspects were women, and all were aged between
01:03their twenties and forties. The official said initial investigations showed that each suspect
01:10had been promised a minimum salary of five thousand ringgit, along with commissions for
01:16every victim they managed to deceive. He added that most of the suspects did not have their
01:22passports with them, as they were being held by the syndicate leaders. Police are investigating
01:28the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for Cheating, and all suspects have been remanded.
01:35The official did not rule out the possibility of more arrests involving similar call centers in
01:40the coming days. He also urged the public, especially those living in condominiums and apartments,
01:47to alert the police if they notice foreigners behaving suspiciously in their neighbourhood.
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