Three held over credit card scam

They allowed a syndicate to use their bank accounts for illegal Internet transactions, according to police.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested three people suspected of allowing a crime syndicate to use their bank accounts for illegal transactions through the Internet.

An officer at the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Division told FMT that police acted on information provided by banks after several credit card holders complained that their cards had been compromised.

He said the three – a forklift driver, an unemployed woman and a factory worker – had received between RM30,000 and RM50,000 from the syndicate since they got involved in its activities. They were picked up yesterday in Kuala Lumpur and Seremban.

“The syndicate would normally order these account holders to make withdrawals immediately after the illegal transfers,” he said. “In return, they are paid about RM1,000 a month.”

He described the three as the “latest victims” of the syndicate.

“This syndicate targets people experiencing financial difficulties,” he said. “In most cases, they allow their accounts to be used without having full knowledge that the transactions through them are illegal.”

He added that police had been hampered in their effort to track down the syndicate members because the account holders knew them only by their nicknames.

The three suspects are in their early 30s. They are held at the Bukit Jalil remand centre and are being investigated for cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

Meanwhile, police have identified four more account holders who have allegedly committed the same offence. They expect to arrest them in the next few days.