Cops nab 7 Japanese men over phone scam

 

Ramli Yoosuf said the syndicate carried out the phone scam through Skype, targeting Japanese nationals. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have nabbed seven Japanese men suspected of being involved in a phone scam syndicate in a raid conducted at a residence here on Nov 13.

Bukit Aman commercial CID director Ramli Yoosuf said the suspects, aged between 23 and 41, were picked up after the police received a report from the Japanese embassy here on the same day.

“The Japanese embassy informed that it had received a complaint from its citizen who was duped with an offer of employment in Malaysia and he only became aware of being a scam victim after arriving in the country to work as a scammer.

“The syndicate carried out the phone scam using the Skype application (and by) targeting Japanese nationals,” he said in a media conference here.

Ramli said further investigations found that the modus operandi of the syndicate was to impersonate as a bank officer to trick victims that their accounts have problems and they need to make a payment to the bank account of the syndicate to settle the matter.

During the raid, 11 mobile phones, a modem, a black plastic bag containing electronic items, a hammer and a bunch of keys were confiscated.

Ramli added that all suspects have been detained under the Immigration Act 1959/63.

“Even though we seldom hear of syndicates involving Japanese (people), the criminals are actively looking at various new tactics to find victims,” said Ramli who advised the public to be alert to the latest tactics of the scammers. - FMT