Police have detained eight individuals, including three women, following a raid on a suspected scam call centre operating out of a premises in Taman Sungai Abong.
The operation was carried out at about 4.40am yesterday by officers from the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Muar district police headquarters, acting on intelligence and information received from the public.
Muar district police chief Assistant Commissioner Raiz Mukhliz Azman Aziz said the suspects, aged between 25 and 40, were believed to be part of a syndicate that had been using the premises as its main operations centre since June last year.
Preliminary investigations found that the group allegedly relied on prepared scam scripts, impersonating representatives from financial institutions and loan companies to deceive victims through phone calls and social media platforms.
During the raid, police seized 20 mobile phones, several laptops, a wireless modem, bank books and notebooks containing scam scripts, with the total value of seized items estimated at RM10,000.
Raiz Mukhliz said the eight suspects were among 20 individuals arrested so far in connection with commercial crime cases involving victims across the country. All eight are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and have been remanded for four days until Monday.
He added that between Wednesday and Thursday, police also arrested 12 other suspects in several states over various fraud-related offences, including phone scams, e-commerce purchase scams and bank account misuse, with reported losses exceeding RM190,000.
Police urged the public to remain vigilant against scam tactics and to report suspicious activities to authorities to help curb the growing threat of commercial crime.
