The transnational racket, based in Malaysia and headed by a 36-year-old
Nigerian man and his 46-year-old Malaysian lover, had allegedly duped
73 Hong Kong women out of HK$58 million since 2014, according to Hong
Kong police. The gang also cheated 13 Malaysian women out of HK$2
million.
The biggest loser was a middle-aged professional from Hong Kong who was
conned out of HK$9.1 million before she reported the case to police
earlier this year, according to Superintendent Lam Cheuk-ho of the
Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau.
The woman came to know her scammer through an online dating platform
last summer, but nine months had passed before she realised she had
been cheated and sought police help in April.
It was gathered her money was laundered by the crooks through more than 10 bank accounts in Malaysia and Nigeria before police lost track of the money.The Nigerian man and his lover were among 13 people nabbed in Malaysia
last week during the joint operation. Hong Kong police officers went to
Kuala Lumpur ahead of a series of raids between December 5 and 8. The
arrests were made after Nigerian authorities picked up a Nigerian woman
on November 28. She was accused of collecting the proceeds of crime
from the online scams.
Besides the two masterminds, 12 of the suspects were said to be core members of the syndicate – five Nigerian men, a man from Sierra Leone, three Malaysian women, a Malaysian man and a Singaporean woman.
Besides the two masterminds, 12 of the suspects were said to be core members of the syndicate – five Nigerian men, a man from Sierra Leone, three Malaysian women, a Malaysian man and a Singaporean woman.
"Half of the core members were responsible for using computers to create fake identities, and searching for and contacting victims, while the other half handled crime proceeds and remitted the money out of Hong Kong and other countries," Lam said.
Describing it as the "biggest and a sophisticated syndicate" that
preyed on Hong Kong women, he said the gang also targeted women in
Europe, America and Australia.
According to police, the victims and their lovers never met and
communicated through the internet. A few had telephone conversations.
Scammers typically disguised as “Caucasian” European or American men,
claiming they were in professions such as engineering, banking,
business or the military, befriended victims online. It would usually
take at least one or two months to win the trust and sympathy of
victims.
"Victims were told their so-called lovers would fly to Hong Kong to marry them and send wedding gifts and assets," Lam said.
But they were then told the gifts and assets had been confiscated by
local authorities and victims were asked for help to pay handling and
administrative fees or a surety. He said some victims were told their
lovers had run into trouble and needed money urgently, among other
excuses.
Hong Kong police sought help from Malaysian and Nigerian authorities
after finding most of the crime proceeds in the 73 cases had been
transferred to bank account
in the two countries. It is understood the joint investigation began
in April after Hong Kong police chief Stephen Lo Wai-chung went to
Malaysia.
After an eight-month investigation to identify the syndicate
masterminds and core members as well as their location, the authorities
made arrests during the past two weeks.
It is understood the suspects will face prosecution in Malaysia and
Nigeria. According to police, deception offences in Malaysia carry a
maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.
Chief Inspector Hui Yee-wai said 90 per cent of the victims were female
and included professionals, housewives and retirees. She urged the
public to safeguard sensitive data and personal information.
"Don’t trust sweet-talking people easily," Hui said. "Stay cautious if requested to transfer money."Source: South China Morning Post
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