MELAKA: A syndicate offering non-existent commissions of RM12 to RM60 for each task of 'like & share' on certain websites, purportedly to boost product ratings, has been uncovered.
The online job scam was exposed following a police raid on an apartment in Kota Laksamana, which was used as a 'call centre' yesterday afternoon.
Melaka Tengah District police chief, Christopher Patit, said that acting on information, a team from the Melaka Tengah District Police Headquarters (IPD) Commercial Crime Investigation Division along with the Melaka Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK) Commercial Crime Investigation Department raided the apartment at 5pm yesterday.
During the raid, police arrested seven individuals, including six men and one woman, all Malaysian citizens aged between 16 and 26 years old.
"We also seized four laptops and three mobile phones. Initial inspections and examination of the evidence revealed that this syndicate was involved in a fake job offer scam targeting Malaysians," he said in a statement today.
Patit explained that the group would advertise job offers on social media, particularly Facebook. Interested victims would click on a WhatsApp link on the page, which would connect them to members of the group acting as 'administrators'.
"These administrators would then teach the victims how to perform the 'like & share' tasks on specific websites to enhance product ratings.
"The victims, deceived by the promise of commission, would be instructed to complete 50 tasks and receive commissions ranging from RM12 to RM60 for each task within the system.
"Influenced by the commission, victims would then make payments into the system's eWallet to carry out the tasks," he said.
Patit added that the syndicate, suspected to have been operating for only three weeks, issued modified receipts to convince victims that the commission payments had been made.
"With this success, the Melaka Commercial Crime Investigation Department has managed to solve 10 fraud cases this year from various contingents, contributing to a total loss of RM132,390.80.
"All suspects are being held in remand from today until June 10, and comprehensive investigations are ongoing under Section 420 of the Penal Code to identify the syndicate's involvement in other fraud cases," he said.
Patit also advised the public to be more cautious before making any money transfer transactions. He suggested that the public verify with Bank Negara or the police if they have any doubts about a transaction to avoid being scammed.
"Check phone numbers and accounts involved through the 'Semakmule' or 'Check Scammers' application, which can be downloaded from Google Play Store, before making any transactions," he added.