KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — Police have detained 1,160 individuals for suspected involvement in call centre scam syndicates for various scamming offences for the first nine months of this year.

They comprise 791 individuals from Malaysia, China (300), Indonesia (20), Taiwan (13), Bangladesh (eight), Vietnam (six), Pakistan (four), Thailand (three), Singapore (three), the Philippines (two), and India (two).

There was also one individual each from the United Kingdom, France, Nigeria, Nepal, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Jordan and Iran.

In a statement today, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department Director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said 501 of them have been charged with various offences in court, while 659 individuals are still under investigation, with a number of them released under police bail.

In the same period, police have conducted 148 raids to cripple the scam call centres which were detected nationwide, he added.

He said of the 148 raids, 46 involved investment, 39 online sales, 23 phone, 19 gambling, 15 money-lending, five non-existent loans, and two each of love and bank account mule scams.

"Investigations revealed that of the 148 call centres, only 69 targeted Malaysians, while the rest targeted victims from around the world with 38 covering China, Singapore 13, the United Kingdom five, and the Philippines four call centres.

"The call centres used special apps to enable them to communicate in the local language of the targeted countries,” he said.

Ramli said the respective embassies of the detained nationalities have been informed of the matter for further action.

"Police are also actively cooperating with overseas authorities, including the United States, Singapore, and Australia to eradicate cross-border scamming,” he said.

He said the police are committed to ensuring continuous action against scam call centres and will highly appreciate the public’s cooperation in providing any information related to such activities. — Bernama