Johor police recently launched a series of raids that smashed four cross-border scam syndicates, rounding up 25 suspects—14 of whom are Chinese nationals. Operating out of seemingly ordinary houses and commercial units, these groups ran everything from fake online gambling and romance traps to e-commerce fraud and crypto scams, setting their sights on victims in Singapore, China, and Thailand.
During the sweeps, officers raided a home in Skudai and picked up 11 locals who were manually manipulating fake betting platforms to fleece Singaporeans. Over at Forest City, seven Chinese nationals were caught running online romance scams targeting people in China and Thailand. In downtown Johor Bahru, five Chinese suspects were nailed for selling counterfeit goods through e-commerce platforms to buyers back in China. Another two Chinese nationals were arrested in a separate crypto scam operation.
Police investigations revealed that all four syndicates recruited staff through social media, dangling basic monthly salaries of 3,000 to 4,000 ringgit for basic "customer service" roles. Once hired, recruits were handed scriptbooks and tasked with engaging overseas targets, coaxing them day in and day out to transfer cash. Police seized a haul of laptops and mobile phones worth over 75,000 ringgit during the operations. All 25 suspects have been remanded as police investigate them for fraud under local cheating laws.
It is a grim reality for quiet residential streets and typical office blocks—behind plain blinds, a few laptops and phones are all it takes to run a multi-country scam den. Plenty of young people take the bait for a few thousand ringgit a month, thinking they are landing an easy desk job typing messages in an air-conditioned room, only to find themselves reading off scripts to steal people's savings. This heavy crackdown has sent a loud, clear warning to syndicate outfits hiding out in rented pads across the state.
