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KUCHING, Aug 9: Sarawak police have arrested five suspects, including one woman, yesterday in connection with a part-time job scam.
The suspects, who are in their 20s, were apprehended during a separate raid at two condominium units that served as their call centres, Sarawak deputy police commissioner Dato Mancha Ata said, according to a TVS news report today.
According to Mancha during a press conference today at the Sarawak Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK Sarawak) in Kuching, initial investigations revealed that the suspects were working as part of a call centre, monitoring bank accounts for victims of fake job offers.
He added that the suspects transferred money from the victims’ bank account to another bank account designated by the syndicate via a Telegram group.
“The target group consists of both local victims and foreigners from Indonesia.
“We also believe that this syndicate has been actively operating since June 2023”, he said, as quoted by TVS.
Furthermore, Mancha stated that during the raid, the police seized 45 ATM cards from various bank accounts, three vehicles, laptops, and 21 mobile phones of various brands valued at more than RM130,000.
He remarked that the police believe all of the bank accounts used by the syndicate involved in the activity are mule accounts, and that efforts are being made to locate all of the accounts involved.
“We estimate the total amount of losses involving this case, which is the offer of part-time work on YouTube ‘Like & Share’ activities, is as much as RM1.8 million,” he added.
Additionally, Mancha noted that all the suspects have been remanded for four days until Aug 12 to assist in the investigation of the case.
He said that the case was investigated under Section 420 and Section 12B of the Penal Code which carries a prison sentence with a fine if convicted. — DayakDaily
