KUALA LUMPUR: An online jewellery scam syndicate was busted following the arrest of four individuals, suspected of scamming victims of RM17,100. They were arrested in two separate raids.

Police secretary Deputy Comm Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin said a man, two local women and a woman with a permanent resident status, aged 26 to 45, were suspected to be the mastermind of their operation, reported Bernama.

She said the syndicate was believed to have been active since mid-2022 and had set up groups through the Telegram and Instagram apps to advertise jewellery and lure victims.

“Victims who are interested in the advertised jewellery will be contacted by a syndicate member and instructed to make payment to a specific account. However, after the payment was made, the promised jewellery was not received by the victim,” she said in a statement yesterday.

DCP Noorsiah said during the raid, police seized six mobile phones and two bank cards. The suspects had been remanded for two days from Friday.