Johor cops investigating 35 phone and investment scam cases

Johor police have opened 22 investigation papers involving phone scam cases and 13 for investment scams.

The investigations were conducted from Aug 17 to 22 this year.

The victims of the phone scams were between 40 and 60 years old and suffered losses ranging from RM2,000 to RM1.43mil.

In a statement on Wednesday (Aug 23), State police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said that the victims were tricked by suspects who pretended to be police and bank officers.

According to Comm Kamarul Zaman, the suspects would claim to be officers from the police, Bank Negara, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Inland Revenue Board, Pos Malaysia, insurance, or courier companies.

The suspects’ modus operandi was to inform the victims that they were involved in illegal activities.

Furthermore, the suspects would transfer the calls to “officers” from different agencies who would then offer to help solve the case.

The victims would then be instructed to transfer money into given bank accounts for investigation purposes.

Comm Kamarul Zaman mentioned that victims usually comply out of fear of being arrested.

Regarding fake investment schemes, Comm Kamarul Zaman explained that syndicates use social media platforms to promote them by including reviews or comments from individuals who allegedly made profits.

However, victims do not receive the promised returns on investment and instead end up losing money.

According to Comm Kamarul Zaman, the victims of these investment scams ranged from 35 to 80 years old and suffered losses of RM2,260 to RM275,141.

All the cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, and Comm Kamarul Zaman advised fraud victims to contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 to block money from the suspect’s account as a preliminary action.