Growing number of local bank accounts used by cheating syndicates
KUCHING: A growing number of Sarawakians are unwittingly being made into account mules by cheating syndicates, who use the bank accounts as a buffer between them and their victims to avoid being caught.
State Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) chief Supt Mohd Firdaus Abdullah said the number of account mules arrested by police has increased in recent months, with three detained this month alone.
“We recently arrested three locals, whose bank accounts were being used to receive money from scam victims, and sent them to Peninsular Malaysia for further investigation as the crimes occurred there,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
“Their bank accounts were being used for the sole purpose to receive cash deposits from victims of scams, and would immediately be emptied by the cheating syndicate to avoid detection.”
Based on previous interviews with account mules, most were unwitting victims after having been tricked into giving their bank account books and ATM cards to a third party, although there were also those who knowingly surrendered the documents in return for a small commission.
Elaborating further on the three recently-arrested mules — two of whom are women — Firdaus said they were taken advantage of by syndicate members due to their socio-economic status.
“Of the three, two are jobless while the other is a labourer. All are under the age of 30. We believe the syndicate targeted and enticed them with the offer of a commission into giving up their bank account books and ATM cards,” he said.
Firdaus explained that the syndicates would then have their victims deposit money into the mules’ accounts to avoid detection by the authorities.
“The accounts act as a buffer to protect the identity of the mastermind. Once the money is in, the account will be cleared and the money put into another account belonging to another mule, and possible repeated again before being physically withdrawn.
“Some of the foreign nationals who were arrested in the past confessed that they were hired to simply make the withdrawals before dropping off the money at an undisclosed location. It is a very intricate web,” he said.
In almost every case, the CCID chief said victims had little chance of ever seeing their money again, thus making it a very expensive lesson.
He added that it is not fair to entirely blame the victim, or to assume that Malaysians are gullible for falling for such scams, because con artists are by nature experts of domination and intimidation.
“They know how to control their victims into parting with their money by instilling a combination of excitement, shame, guilt or fear. No one is immune to a scam whether you are a yuppie or a high-standing member of society,” said Firdaus.
Citing an example of a high-ranking government official in Miri at the end of last year, he said the victim was duped into believing he had won US$100,000 in a contest, and ended up depositing a total of RM44,000 on nine separate occasions over a two-week period.
Six persons — four from Peninsular Malaysia and two foreign nationals —were arrested in that case, which ended with one of the foreigners being charged in court.
Other cases of ‘high-standing’ individuals who became victims of scams included a former university professor who lost RM15,000 in a ‘Macau scam’, and a former top cop who lost several thousand ringgit in a phishing scam.
“Although I have advised the public an umpteen number of times, there are still those who fall victim to all forms of scams. The public should always play it safe and verify information first instead of blindly following whatever they are instructed to do.
“Safeguard yourself while browsing the Internet and do not open emails sent to you by unknown persons. If you are asked to update your bank account details via the Internet, double-check with the said bank or with the police to see if the request is authentic,” he pointed out.