Love Scams: Cops nab six Nigerian men, one local woman

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested six Nigerian men and a local woman believed to be members of a syndicate involved in love scams following two raids around Kajang on June 23.

All those arrested are aged between 33 and 42 and the syndicate, which has been active for the past five years, is believed to have targeted Malaysians and foreigners.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said their investigation revealed that the syndicate was also linked to at least eight love scam cases involving losses estimated at RM3.7 million.

"The investigation also found that the syndicate (members) entered the country using student and social visas. When their visas expired, they continued to live here illegally to continue with their fraud activities," he said in a statement today.

He said police also seized eight laptops, 17 mobile phones, three thumb drives, two modems, two routers, two ATM cards, a set of keys, two Nigerian passports and various other documents.

Mohd Kamarudin said the syndicate operated in two separate groups, with one creating fake accounts on social media while the other looked for mule accounts.

"The syndicate then worked with locals who would pose as Customs officers or employees of courier companies to dupe their victims," he said, adding that all the suspects are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code and Section 6(1)(c) or Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/62.

He advised the public to always be wary of requests for friendship or love on social media, especially those who promised gifts.

"Don't be easily deceived by any phone calls, WhatsApp, messages from Customs or courier companies asking for payments so that the parcels can be sent to you," he said.

He urged the public to verify the account and telephone numbers via http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule to check if the accounts had been linked to previous fraud cases before making any payments.

"The public can contact the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-26101559 or 03-26101599 or by sending WhatsApp message to the CCID Infoline at 013-2111222 if they have any information on such cases," he said.

-- BERNAMA