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It has been reported that at least 111 women in Penang have fallen victim to an Internet scam, where fraudsters made use of photographs of ‘handsome men’, luring the victims into relationships. The victims are all aged between 20 and 70 years of age.
According to authorities they have busted a syndicate, masterminded by a 35-year old Nigerian. A number of 11 Nigerian men and 3 Malaysian women were arrested last Friday. The arrests were carried out by a team consisting of Penang and Bukit Aman Police.
Police stated that they have been investigating the syndicate since 2008 following reports lodged by victims. Penang deputy police chief Senior Assistant Comm Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah said the syndicate approached single women through social networking sites, such as Facebook.
After forming relationships with the victims, the syndicate would tell them they were sending them gifts from the United Kingdom. "Then they will get their local partners here to call the women. The partners will pretend to be customs officer and tell the women the 'gifts' have arrived but they need to bank in money to collect the 'gifts."
According to police the syndicate used different methods to cheat the women and some of the victims parted with their money thinking it was to invest in a business.
The arrested suspects are detained while the investigation is still ongoing.