IPOH: Police have busted an Internet scam syndicate, known as African Scam, made up of two Nigerian men, a local woman and a Japanese woman, after two women were reported to have been cheated of RM100,000 last month.
Perak police chief Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan said acting on information, the Perak Commercial Crime Investigation Department detained the suspects, aged between 30 and 50 in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan on July 25.
Police then raided their house in Bandar Nilai where they found five mobile phones, four bank books, four ATM cards, four passports, a fixed phone, a modem and name card containers, he told reporters at the Perak contingent police headquarters, yesterday.
Mohd Shukri said the victims were a 32-year-old nurse from Taiping who lost RM90,000 and a 40-year-old teacher from Ipoh who lost RM12,000 after both victims had befriended the suspect through the social networking website, Facebook and Twitter.
“The syndicate had convinced the victims that they were good friends. Following that, financial transactions involving thousands of ringgit were carried out,” he said.
He said the syndicate’s modus operandi was befriending the victims through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, posting their profiles as foreign individuals who were personable, rich and religious.
“They used other people’s faces on the accounts to attract the women. After a period of acquaintance, the suspect will tell the suspect that he has sent something valuable as a token of appreciation,” he said.
The victim will then receive a call from someone pretending to be from a courier company or Customs officer asking for tax payment for the package, he added.
Mohd Shukri said the suspects who have been active for the past three years and entered the country as students, target career women, including clerks, teachers, nurses and even students.
The four suspects were remanded and the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which upon conviction carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and caning and fine, he said.
He reminded the public, especially women, not to be easily fooled by new acquaintances on the Internet who ask for thousands of ringgit from them.
In a development on a shooting case in Parit Buntar on Wednesday, Mohd Shukri said police did not dismiss the possibility that the murder involved triad activities.
“We’re confident that there was a dispute between the two groups in the area as the victim has four past records involving drugs and car theft,” he said.
A factory van driver was found dead with two bullet wounds on the left side of his stomach and right hip at the Jalan Permai Utama junction in Parit Buntar.
N Jeevandran, 26, was found lying by the road shoulder as well as a red Honda EX5 motorcycle belonging to him, three bullet shells, his wallet containing personal details and RM60 as well as a Nokia mobile phone. — Bernama