Kota Kinabalu: Students’ bank accounts are among those used as mule accounts by scam syndicates, with some account holders paid one-off incentives of up to RM1,000.
Kota Kinabalu Police Chief ACP Kasim Muda said nearly 350 people were arrested last year for allowing their bank accounts to be used to channel illicit funds.
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“Some are students, some are members of the public. They are offered one-off payments of RM500, RM800 or up to RM1,000 depending on the bank.
“But they can still be charged under Section 424A or 424B of the Penal Code,” he told a press conference, Monday.
Kasim warned that offenders face a minimum RM10,000 fine or at least one year’s imprisonment upon conviction, adding that several individuals have been charged in court.
From January to December last year, the Kota Kinabalu commercial crime division opened 1,347 investigation papers involving total losses of RM119.8 million.
Of the figure, 959 cases were online scams, accounting for RM63.2 million in losses. The highest cause were from investment schemes amounting to RM41,730,723.
“Between Jan 1 and 31 this year alone, police opened 144 investigation papers involving RM10.5 million in losses, with 107 cases linked to online scams causing RM9.4 million in losses”.
Police conducted raids in January on premises suspected of operating scam call centres, arresting 20 local and foreign suspects.
“A separate raid led to the arrest of seven locals believed to be involved in a syndicate buying ATM cards from the public to be used as mule accounts.
“Investigations into both cases have been completed and the suspects have been charged in the court,” he said.
Kasim urged the public not to lend or rent out their ATM cards despite promises of easy money, stressing that account holders can be prosecuted even if they are not directly involved in scam operations.
He also confirmed that fatal road accidents in the district increased last year, prompting police to intensify enforcement through Ops Payung and upcoming festive safety operations aimed at reducing accidents.
