PETALING JAYA: Police have smashed a Love Scam syndicate operating out of a resort in Kelantan, which was believed to be targeting Singaporeans.
Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat said a total of 58 people, mostly foreigners, were arrested following the 4.30pm raid in Tanah Merah yesterday, Bernama reported.
He added that the raid was carried out following intelligence gathered by the commercial crime investigation department (CCID) of the Kelantan police contingent headquarters (IPK).
According to Yusoff, those arrested comprised 53 men and five women aged between 20 and 30. He said there were 56 foreign nationals, mostly from China, and two Malaysians.
At a press conference held at the Tanah Merah police headquarters, Yusoff told reporters that the rented resort premises had been converted into a call centre to run the scam.
The syndicate allegedly posed as women believed to be from Indonesia to manipulate victims emotionally.
“Their modus operandi was to send messages stating just ‘hi’ before building relationships through WhatsApp without video calls, and eventually deceiving victims into sending money,” he said.
The operation is believed to have been running since late March from noon to midnight daily, and was managed by three supervisors and 55 operators.
At least eight routers, including satellite internet networks, used to ensure stable connectivity and evade detection, were seized, Yusoff said.
Also seized were 46 computers, five laptops, 118 mobile phones and eight routers, with a total value estimated at RM179,000.
Yusoff said police had yet to determine total losses as no reports had been lodged by Singaporeans who had fallen victim to the syndicate.
Investigations also found that 33 of the 56 foreign nationals had valid travel documents, while the rest did not.
The case is being investigated under Sections 420 and 120B of the Penal Code. All suspects have been remanded for four days from today to assist investigations.
