Melaka police chief Abdul Majid Mohd Ali said the suspects, aged 21 to 40 years, were arrested in four separate raids in Alor Gajah, Seri Kembangan, Kajang and Kepong on Jan 4 and 5.
The seven included two Malaysians who would act as agents who offered job opportunities to victims before asking them to surrender their bank ATM cards and PIN numbers that would be used as mule accounts for their clandestine activities and online purchases.
“In this case, the victim, a gardener aged 30, was given a one-off commission of between RM300 and RM400 for each bank account. The victim had already surrendered his two ATM cards and PIN numbers to the suspects.
“The victim was also asked to find friends who were willing to hand over their ATM cards and reveal their PIN numbers. He managed to get five friends who were interested in the syndicate’s offer,” he said at a press conference at the Melaka contingent police headquarters today.
Also present was state commercial crime investigation department head, E Sundra Rajan.
Majid said the victim was later taken to a house in Seri Kembangan, Selangor by two syndicate members known as “Yusri” and “Naufal”.
Sensing something was wrong with the whole scenario, the victim lodged a police report on Jan 3. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Police also seized 58 ATM cards of various banks, and several foreign currencies.
“We believe the syndicate, which is involved in cross-border fraud, has been active since last October.
“Its mastermind is a Chinese national who is still at large.
“With the arrest of the syndicate members, we believe 36 online cheating cases nationwide involving total losses of RM466,380.25 have been solved. Three of these cases with losses totalling RM26,069.22 were reported in Melaka,” he said.
Majid said initial investigations revealed that the local suspects had a criminal record involving fraud and drugs.
“Melaka police would like to remind the public to be more vigilant before making any money transfers and to check with Bank Negara or the police if they have any suspicions or concerns,” he said.