Johor police chief Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the victims were aged between 40 and 60 and worked in various fields.

He said the victims in three of the cases claimed to have lost more than RM200,000 each after being duped by individuals claiming to be, among others, police officers and bank officers.

“The modus operandi of the syndicate is impersonating cops, officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Inland Revenue Board, Pos Malaysia, insurance companies and the J&T delivery company.

“The scammers contact the victims and tell them that they are involved in illegal activities and demand payments to ‘settle’ the case.

“The victims only realised they have been duped after they have made the payments and the ‘officers’ concerned are no longer contactable,” he said in a statement.

He said 13 investigation papers had also been opened for fraud involving non-existent investment schemes during the same period. The victims, aged between 35 and 80, claimed to have suffered losses amounting to RM808,564.