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THE ‘ MACAU SCAM’
It involves a syndicate of confidence tricksters who get you to reveal details of your bank account before cheating you of your money.
1 One method is to pose as a bank officer and contact you, the targeted victim. The ‘bank officer’ will inform you that your personal information has been misused to apply for a credit card which had been used in some transactions.
You will be given a telephone number, purportedly that of Bank Negara, to lodge a report. The call will be answered by an accomplice who will ask you to provide personal details, as well as bank information.
You will be told that your money is at risk, and you will be persuaded to transfer your money to another account to keep it safe. That is the last time you will ever see your money again.
2 Another method is to tell you you have won a prize.
3 You may receive a phone call informing you that your son or some other family member has been detained by the police.
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24 June 2016
Public advised to ignore ‘Macau Scam’ phone calls
JOHOR BARU: The public has been urged to ignore telephone calls from strangers who claim that their bank accounts have been used by certain criminal syndicates.
South Johor Baru Police chief ACP Sulaiman Salleh gave this advice after a woman was deceived by a syndicate known as the ‘Macau Scam’ last Tuesday.
The 30-year-old victim reported she received a call from an individual who introduced himself as Inspector Chia, a police officer from China at about 9am.
He said the suspect who used the phone number +862162310110 told the victim her account had been used by an international drug syndicate.
“The suspect then ordered the woman to give the last four-digit of her ATM card and to deposit RM2,500 into an account belonging to a man, to avoid arrest.
“At 2.30pm (on the same day), the victim deposited the required sum of money into a Hong Leong Bank account as provided by the suspect. The victim was then warned not to disclose the matter to anyone,” he said in a statement here, Wednesday.
Sulaiman said fearing for her safety, the victim made a police report.
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30 March 2016
Star
30 March 2016
Johor cops smash Macau scam ring, nab foreign nationals
JOHOR BARU: A group of Chinese and Taiwanese nationals have been using a rented bungalow in a posh neighbourhood here and conning victims overseas of millions of ringgit.
However, the Macau scam syndicate’s operations came to an end several days ago when police moved in and arrested 15 foreigners including four women.
Police recovered an array of items including laptops, modems, phones and routers.
The suspects, in their 20s, and 40s, were part of a syndicate that cheated millions of yuan from dozens of Chinese citizens in China.
All the suspects, who entered Malaysia on tourist visas, have since been remanded to assist in investigations.
Police were also working with the Chinese Embassy and Interpol with regard to the case.
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Sources said that as all the crimes were committed overseas, all the suspects detained would be deported to face charges in China.
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27 March 2016
Gang of Macau Scam online fraudsters nabbed
76 China and Taiwan natonals detained in Klang Valley and 21 in Penang for online fraud.
KUALA LUMPUR: One Malaysian and 76 nationals of China and Taiwan were detained by police in the Klang Valley, and 21 Chinese nationals and their food caterer in Penang for an online credit-card fraud known as the Macau Scam.
Commercial CID director Mortadza Nazarene said there were 56 men and 20 women in the group, with 40 of them from Taiwan. They were detained in police raids conducted at three locations in Taman Melawati Indah and Taman Sri Ukay in Hulu Klang and in Seremban.
He said the syndicate operated from bungalow and double-storey terraced houses equipped with high-speed internet.
Penang police arrested 21 Chinese nationals and a local man believed to be their caterer in a raid on a bungalow in Bayan Lepas at about 9.15pm.
Mortadza said the syndicate preyed on Chinese and Taiwanese nationals. Syndicate members would pose as bank officials or police officers to ask ask the victims to settle their bank loans or outstanding credit card payments.
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22 January 2016
Malaysian cops bust ‘Macau scam’ ring who cheated Chinese citizens of around $760,000 https://shar.es/1h7fgW
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KUALA LUMPUR – The Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) has crippled a Klang Valley-based Macau Scam syndicate with the arrest of 44 Taiwanese and Chinese nationals.
Bukit Aman CCID (Cyber and Multimedia Crimes) officer Deputy Supt Hong Ken Hock said the syndicate had cheated more than 100 Chinese citizens living in the Jiangsu Province with losses amounting to approximately 3.5 million yuan (S$760,000).
“We carried out simultaneous raids around the Klang Valley after receiving a tip-off from authorities in the Jiangsu Province recently.
“We raided a three-storey bungalow in Taman Duta at 2pm Friday and arrested 22 Chinese nationals and 22 Taiwanese nationals,” he explained.
Those arrested comprised seven male Chinese nationals, 15 female Chinese nationals, 16 male Taiwanese nationals and six female Taiwanese nationals.
– See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/macau-scam-ring-busted-malaysia#sthash.41YuNZP4.zNk1wxOu.dpuf
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10 November 2015
SCAMMERS SENT BACK TO CHINA! They can expect long sentences in jail. At least, none will be put to death.
254 telephone scammers arrested in Cambodia, Indonesia sent home to #China http://bit.ly/20JlMY8
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People’s Daily,China 254 telecom fraud suspects sent back to China from Indonesia and Cambodia Tuesday morning https://www.facebook.com/PeoplesDaily/posts/1038365032881980 …
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People’s Daily, China added 4 new photos.
254 telecom fraud suspects were sent back to China from Indonesia and Cambodia on Tuesday morning, amid China’s crackdown on new types of crimes using telecommunication networks and the Internet. The suspects were taken in for over 4,000 international telecommunication fraud cases reported in over 20 provinces and cities in China, including Hong Kong.
282 police officers in four batches were sent on mission to Indonesia and Cambodia by China’s Ministry of Public Security on Monday evening. They took the suspects handed over by local police and flew right back.
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18 August 2015
#UPDATE: Phone scammers are sending Hong Kong victims’ cash to Malaysia, Taiwan and Macau, leading police to ask… http://fb.me/6N0IX50ou
SCMP News 
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Malay Mail Online
Malaysians believed involved in RM66.7m phone scam, Hong Kong police say
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 ― Malaysians are believed to be involved in a massive phone scam in Hong Kong, along with suspects from Macau and Taiwan, Hong Kong police said when seeking help from Interpol for their investigations.
The South China Morning Post reported that the scam involved Mandarin- or Cantonese-speaking fraudsters informing victims over the phone that they have broken laws on mainland China before directing them to bogus law enforcers or government websites that show forged arrest warrants.
The victims are then told to remit money to bank accounts on the mainland, after which the funds are quickly transferred to many different accounts to avoid detection.
“So far, we’ve identified hundreds of mainland bank accounts linked to the scams.
“Initial investigation showed some of the money was transferred to bank accounts in Malaysia, Taiwan and Macau. We believe people from Malaysia, Taiwan and Macau are also involved in the telephone scams,” an unnamed police source told the Hong Kong-based daily.
The source said it was unlikely the lost money would be recovered, but that police would seek help from international police cooperation organisation Interpol to identify the holders of the bank accounts and track down the swindlers.
The police discovered that some of the HK$126 million (RM66.7 million) that Hong Kong victims lost to cross-border phone scammers last month has been remitted to Malaysia, Taiwan and Macau.
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17 April 2015
Macau Scam : 52 Chinese Nationals Detained
KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Bernama) — Police have detained 52 Chinese nationals suspected of being involved in a syndicate dubbed, ‘Macau Scam’ at six luxury condominiums around Kuala Lumpur since yesterday.
Kuala Lumpur Police deputy chief Datuk Law Hong Soon said the 52 comprised 26 men and 26 women aged between 18 to 52 years.
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He said in their modus operandi, the suspects would telephone the victims and inform them that they had won a lucky draw worth millions from an overseas company.
“The syndicate members would give a telephone number for the victim to call and claim the gift offered. Before it is given, the syndicate member would ask the victim to pay the taxes and insurance on the gift, into his bank account,” he said.
Law said after the money had been banked into the account, the suspect could no longer be contacted and the victim would not get the purported prize money.
Alternatively, the victim would get a telephone call from a person claiming to be a local bank officer who said that the victim’s credit card account had an outstanding payment.
“The victim would be asked to contact someone who was supposedly an officer of Bank Negara Malaysia if he did not want his name to be blacklisted or his account frozen. Then the victim would carry out the suspect’s instructions to transfer money into a certain bank account through e-banking or cash deposit machine,” he said.
— BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v8/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=1127352
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Star
Friday April 17, 2015 MYT 9:56:36 PM
Cops cripple international ‘Macau scam’ syndicate, 52 Chinese nationals arrested
UALA LUMPUR: Police have crippled an international “Macau scam” syndicate believed to have cheated millions of Ringgit from hundreds of victims with the arrest of 52 Chinese nationals here.
The suspects, aged between 18 and 52, were arrested when police raided six high-end condominium units around the city at about 6pm on Thursday.
City deputy police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Law Hong Soon said that the arrests of the 52 Chinese nationals, which included 26 women, was the biggest bust in the country this year.
DCP Law added that police also seized items including nine desktop computers, 55 handphones, 67 laptops, RM14,955 and 28,695 Yuan in cash as well as various other items that were believed to be used by the syndicate in the scam.
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Star
Tuesday December 16, 2014 MYT 9:32:42 PM
Cops cripple international syndicate running ‘Macau Scam’ in Klang Valley
Police arrested 60 Taiwanese and Chinese nationals, who were found to be part of an international syndicate that scams people by posing as bank or government officials.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian and Chinese police crippled an international syndicate running the infamous ‘Macau Scam’ that had swindled over RM12mil from Chinese and Taiwanese victims here.
An operation led by SAC Kamaruddin Md Din, saw officers from China’s Interpol and Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department arresting 60 suspects during raids in three houses in the Klang Valley.
The scammers, who set up their seedy operations base in houses in Taman Seputeh, Taman Cheras and Bandar Sri Damansara, have been operating here for about three-months.
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SAC Kamaruddin, who is Bukit Aman CCID cyber crime investigation unit’s assistant director, said the 60 arrested were men and women from Taiwan and China, brought into Malaysia under the pretext of being tourists – to scam their own countrymen.
Police were also investigating if locals had a hand in the syndicate, as the houses were rented out to them by Malaysians.
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Since 2011, more than RM83mil have been lost by victims of the notorious Macau phone scammers.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/12/16/Crime-Macau-Scam-Syndicate/
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Star
Friday November 22, 2013 MYT 6:43:55 AM
Malacca police smash ‘Macau scam’ syndicate
Caught red-handed: Some of the suspects who were detained during the raid at the premises in Puncak Bertam in Cheng.
MALACCA: Another international syndicate involved in a “Macau scam” where victims were cheated of millions of ringgit here, has been smashed.
Malacca police busted the ring with the arrest of 10 foreigners, its police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye said.
He said the suspects from Taiwan and China were caught red-handed during the 11am raid by a team of police officers from the state commercial crime, Bukit Aman and Johor Baru. The suspects are also on the wanted list of Beijing police.
The foreigners, including four women, aged between 20 and 30, were allegedly involved in an international scam syndicate, which raked in over RM11mil from victims residing in China and Taiwan since October.
DCP Chuah said the syndicate, which originated from Macau, had used Malacca as its operation base for the first time.
“They rented two rows of shophouses at a commercial hub here to operate their illegal activities while all of them had entered the country on tourist visa passes,” he said at the raid site in Puncak Bertam in Cheng here yesterday.
He said the intelligence shared by the Chinese police had led to the arrest of the foreigners, along with a local who had rented the premises.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/11/22/Malacca-police-smash-Macau-scam-syndicate/
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Malay Mail Online
34 Malaysians arrested in China over Macau scam
In the past three years, more than RM83 million in losses have been reported by Malaysian victims over various phone scams. ― File pic
PETALING JAYA, Nov 8 — Police have uncovered a local syndicate based in China involved in the infamous “Macau scam” which preyed on Malaysian victims.
Previously, Malaysia was used as a base by international syndicates from China and Taiwan to dupe their citizens.
However, this year Federal police discovered a syndicate from Malaysia had set up base in China to scam locals there.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department Cyber and Multimedia Crimes assistant director ACP Kamaruddin Din said 34 Malaysians were arrested last month by Chinese police.
“We initiated an investigation following a high number of reports lodged. The victims would receive calls from suspects posing as law enforcement and bank officers who informed them over the phone that criminals had accessed their bank accounts.”
Kamaruddin said the victims were asked to transfer money to a foreign-based bank account to ensure they do not lose their savings.
“We found out the calls were made via the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology instead of a normal telephone network.”
The cyber unit tracked down the calls that were made from China.
Kamaruddin said they informed their counterparts in China and Chinese police then raided an office building which operated as a full fledged call centre.
“A total of 34 Malaysians were arrested by the Chinese police during the raid. Investigations showed most victims were Malaysians. There were also Chinese victims involved.”
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/34-malaysians-arrested-in-china-over-macau-scam
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Star
Wednesday July 2, 2014 MYT 9:51:46 AM
Macau scam ring busted in JB
Illegal activity: SDCP Mohd Mokhtar (second from left) holding the VOIP during a press conference held at the state police headquarters in Johor Baru.
JOHOR BARU: Police uncovered an international syndicate involved in a “Macau scam” with the arrest of two Taiwanese nationals at a hotel in Kluang.
The syndicate is believed to have been active for the past several months. They even rented 22 rooms at the hotel that were turned into their call centre for their illegal activities.
The group is believed to have raked in millions of ringgit by targeting locals as well as foreigners living abroad.
Johor police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said the duo, aged between 24 and 25 years, were detained at the hotel at around 11.30pm last Saturday.
“The suspects will call up victims while posing as bank officers or a Taiwanese Government official by using the Voice Over Internet Protocol (Voip),” he explained at a press conference at the state police headquarters here yesterday.
“The syndicate would then inform their victims that he or she has been found to be involved in money laundering and their accounts have to be closed,” he added.
SDCP Mohd Mokhtar said the suspects would then instruct their victims to transfer their money into another account.
“Voip will display the actual phone number of banks and government departments and offices on the receiver’s mobile phones, making it easy for syndicates to dupe their victims,” he said.
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