On Tuesday (Mar 28), authorities extradited three Malaysians to Singapore due to their suspected involvement in “fake friend” call scams that targeted Singaporeans.
The Singapore Commercial Affairs Department and the Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department of the Royal Malaysia Police jointly carried out the operation, arresting the men aged between 18 and 27 on Mar 20 during a raid at an apartment complex in Johor.
In its news release on Wednesday, the Singapore Police Force stated that preliminary investigations showed that the men had initiated their scam operations earlier this year and allegedly had links to more than 40 reports, resulting in total losses exceeding S$250,000.
According to the police, since January this year, fake friend call scams have cheated over 1,300 victims of at least S$4.33 million.
The police released figures on Mar 10 showing that 945 victims had lost more than S$3.2 million since the beginning of the year.
Different steps in scamming
Such “fake friend” scams typically involve scammers contacting victims through text messages or phone calls, pretending to be someone they know, then asking for financial help.
“Fake friend call scams are on the rise and this is a serious concern,” said Commercial Affairs Department director David Chew.
“We will continue to take tough action against individuals who perpetuate scams even if they are based overseas.”
The authorities will charge the three Malaysians with conspiracy to cheat in court on Thursday. If the court finds them guilty, they could face a jail term of up to three years and a fine.
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