Syndicates join forces to rake in millions
POLICE have warned that two syndicates – African Hacker and Love Scam – are conspiring to con victims of millions of ringgit that may run up to RM100mil next year.
According to Utusan Malaysia, the Africans have stepped up their activity, leading police to estimate the higher losses if intensive action was not taken to clamp down on the fraudsters operating in Malaysia.
The paper quoted Commercial Crime Investigation Department deputy director (Intelligence and Operations) Senior Asst Comm Roslan Abd Wahid as saying that the rackets were in cahoots in their latest move to maximise their takings.
SAC Roslan said scammers behind Love Scam had cheated victims of RM53mil this year while African Hacker had raked in RM45mil in just six months.
“In one case of fraudulent e-mail involving an American university, we found out that the African Hacker syndicate was not just manipulating staff salaries but had also hacked into the personal database of its students.He added that his team discovered their activity following a series of criminal fraud cases involving local and foreign victims.
“The personal details, including the students’ social networking accounts, were then shared with their fellow Love Scam-mers,” he said, adding that several female students fell prey to the scam.
“More worryingly than their combined forces is that both syndicates are actively operating in Malaysia and targeting victims all around the world,” he added.
