Kuala Lumpur: They never learn, do they? Despite the many reports of Internet scams, unsuspecting locals continue to fall prey to syndicates, purportedly for love.In the latest incident, the police uncovered an Internet scam allegedly orchestrated by a group of Africans, with the arrest of nine youths aged between 20 and 30.
The suspects, from Nigeria and studying at a local higher learning institution, were picked up on Monday.
Cheras Police Chief ACP Mohan Singh Tara Singh said eight laptops and 13 cell phones were seized in connection with the arrests.
He said a 45-year-old teacher reported to the police that she had lost RM14,200 which she had banked into a local account to retrieve a gift sent by a man she had befriended through the social page.
"The man, who claimed to be an engineer named Halim, and residing in Scotland, told the woman to bank the money into the account of a woman.
"He had said that the money was payment to the customs department to facilitate the release of the gift from a shipping company in Kota Kinabalu," Mohan Singh told a press conference here, Tuesday.
That was the last the teacher heard from the 'boyfriend' who disappeared with the money.
Meanwhile, in another case, the police detained four men in connection with a shooting incident in Jalan Budiman 19, Bandar Tun Razak on Sunday.
The suspects, aged 29 to 32, have been remanded until Thursday.
In the incident at 8.46pm, victims S. Tamil and N. Saravanan were almost killed when they were fired upon by a group of men, following a quarrel.
