Syndicate Posing as Charity Organisations Online Uncovered, 55 M’sians Arrested

If you are active on social media or are a casual user, chances are you’ve seen many posts of charity organisations asking for donations to help them run their facilities or whatnot.

However, not all these organisations seem to be what they portray themselves as, as the PDRM has uncovered a scam syndicate that asks for donations online.

According to The Sun Daily, the police raided a premise in Kepong on October 4 and arrested 55 locals acting on behalf of the scamming syndicate. There were 34 males and 21 females ranging from 18 to 42 years old.

The KL Chief Police, Datuk Allaudeen Abdul Majid, said that this syndicate has been active for 5 years and took on the name of 3 charity organisations when they call the victims asking for donations and in Facebook ads to make people sympathise with them.

“The money donated was transferred to 7 company accounts that are believed to be belonging to the organisation. The amount of money from the victims is still under investigation.”

PDRM is also investigating whether the 3 charity organisations that the scammers posed as are involved in this scam syndicate. Hence, they have called upon representatives from the organisations to help with the investigations.

During the raid, the authorities seized 58 laptops, 126 phones, 108 receipt books, 2 router modems and 2 scripts of conversations between caller and victim. Early investigations show that scammers can get a 10-20% commission if they successfully get “donations”.

This case is currently under investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

Remember to research a certain organisation before making donations to ensure you don’t become a victim of scams!

Also read: Foreigners Caught at Bukit Bintang Using Children to Get Sympathy & Money From Public