Scam syndicate operating via 'boiler room'
SHAH ALAM - The investment fraud syndicate, led by a United Kingdom (UK) citizen, has been purchasing user data from countries to target victims.
This syndicate would make a 'boiler room' or base to perform their calls and send emails towards potential investors.
Fake websites that displayed legitimate looking investment advertisements were used to trap victims.
Investors interested in the offering would then key in their details to be contacted.
The syndicate targeted foreign citizens; among them were those from the UK and Australia, as this would complicate investigation attempts from the authorities.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Anti-Money Laundering division director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin said the fake websites created mirrored legitimate websites.
He said the syndicate is cunning and has structured operations to ensure evidence is not easily traceable by authorities.
"The boiler room would play a role not only in making calls and sending out e-mails, but they would also create websites that mirrored legitimate websites displaying specific investment advertisements to attract investors from the targeted countries.
"The syndicate's modus operandi is to purchase user data from countries involved, such as the list of Australian users to contact.
"Early investigations found the syndicate would make 100 to 200 calls daily to convince investors on high return projects or their latest project and such," he told Sinar Harian recently.
He said the syndicate members would convince their victims to invest by psychologically manipulating them.
Zamri explained the syndicate has certain guidelines in place, such as what to do when individuals are busy along with methods to ensure they contact them afterwards.
"The syndicate knew how to approach individuals, like dealing with Europeans, and their skills to psychologically manipulate will be enforced to scam their victims.
"The syndicate members were also brokers, they were experts in managing matters involving finances and investments and cleverly know how to convince their victims. They (the syndicate) are experts and knew which stocks were on the rise, as they have previously worked in investment firms.
"Syndicate members who successfully scam their victims would be paid AUD$500 (RM1,513), and this is not inclusive of their monthly salary," he said.
MACC's investigations found investment victims have lost up to AUD$15 million (RM45.4 million).
Zamri said the syndicate would use auto-delete applications to destroy any evidence and change their locations every two to three months to confuse authorities from tracking them.
He added that the MACC had found these boiler rooms, which were used as scam call centres in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia.
"We can't deny the involvement of locals in this syndicate. We worry the locals involved would take advantage of the situation and create their own boiler rooms or scams to target local victims as they improve their scamming techniques," he said.
He explained the syndicate will have specific tasks for its members, like those who make calls and receive transactions.
"For example, country A's investor would be called from country B, and the payment will be from a different country.
"Money channelled into Malaysia, for instance, would go to a different country and return to Malaysia using several methods, including cash couriers and money changers, for operational financing purposes here (Malaysia)," he said.
He said the assets or cash generated would then be laundered through several methods.
"There were at least 24 layering methods found, such as land and asset purchases along with donations and their involvement in other crimes.
"We believe this fraud syndicate involved local citizens that played a role in establishing the company, immigration permits, as well as premise rentals," he claimed.
He claimed that the syndicate would deceive foreign citizens into investing, and that investigations revealed not only corruption issues involving specific enforcement agencies, but also other parties, specifically professionals assisting the syndicate.
