The Malacca police in Malaysia successfully dismantled a crime syndicate primarily engaged in online order brushing scams, targeting job seekers from Caribbean island nations using an apartment as their base. During the raid, nine suspects were arrested, including three Chinese nationals.
According to the Malaysian police, the Commercial Crime Investigation Department of Malacca state conducted a sudden assault on an apartment unit in Kota Laksamana, successfully cracking down on the scam group.
The acting chief police of Malacca, Dato' Nazri, stated today that the group used the apartment unit as a "job call center," luring victims with fake recruitment information.
The group mainly posted fake job advertisements on the social media platform Facebook. After seeing the recruitment information, victims were directed to contact group members via WhatsApp or Telegram. Victims were required to complete 32 tasks on a designated website, including enhancing online reviews for certain hotels or movies in Caribbean island nations.
The scam method revealed that after completing the initial tasks, if the victims wanted to continue receiving higher commissions, they had to pay a certain fee first. However, after making the payment, the victims did not receive any compensation and ended up being defrauded. The police estimate that the group defrauded about MYR 54,000 (approximately SGD 16,356) per month.
During the operation, the police seized a large number of crime tools, including one laptop, seven desktop computers, and 49 mobile phones. The police are currently further investigating to trace the masterminds behind the group and more victims. The police urge the public to be vigilant and avoid falling into similar job scam traps.
