Bukit Aman criminal investigation department deputy director (investigation/legal) Rusdi Isa said 133 victims are still stranded in foreign countries as of Feb 23.

“During the same period, the police received 354 reports of job scams, involving a total of 459 victims.

“Most of the cases involved job scams in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. According to a study, 73% of the victims ended up working as scammers, 12% in customer service, 8% in casinos and 7% as cooks or other jobs,” he told reporters here today.

Rusdi said the victims were mainly lured abroad by lucrative salary offers, having lost their sources of income.

“They were influenced and deceived by job adverts on social media platforms such as Facebook.

“They were initially offered jobs as customer service officers at investment companies or licensed casinos, and some were also offered jobs at holiday resorts.

“When they arrived in those countries, they were forced to work as scammers, for example, for non-existent investments, and also in love scams,” he said.