MELAKA: Police have busted a syndicate involved in processing cloned debit cards, with the arrest of a Singaporean man at a condominium in Tengkera on April 23.
Melaka police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the 42-year-old suspect was detained during a raid at 1.15pm, where police seized 227 Laos-based Joint Development Bank Visa debit cards, along with various equipment used for cloning, including a laser cutting machine, a heat gun blower, and a debit card scanning machine.
Preliminary investigations found that all the debit cards were printed with the names of Japanese citizens and were believed to be intended for sale in the Japanese market.
“The suspect had been renting the condominium since January and used it as a facility to process the cloned cards,” Dzulkhairi said at a press conference. “He received supplies of Joint Development Bank debit cards from a certain party via courier, before copying data from the original cards onto blank clone cards using a laser machine.”
The cloned cards, once printed with a chip and magnetic stripe, were upgraded to premium or platinum status and tested for functionality using a scanner and terminal machine.
After processing, the cards were sent to new owners via courier, and the suspect received S$3,800 a month. The case is being investigated under Sections 420 and 424A of the Penal Code, as well as Regulation 39B of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for violating pass conditions.
The suspect has been remanded for five days, and an application for an extension will be made to facilitate further investigation.
In a separate case, Dzulkhairi reported the arrest of five local men, aged 21 to 32, for a job scam that caused RM1.82 million in losses. The suspects, working as customer service officers, were detained at a call centre in Ayer Keroh for targeting locals with fake job offers via social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
“Victims were promised part-time jobs and offered a 10 per cent commission for cryptocurrency investments,” he said, adding that so far, 14 victims have reported monthly salary offers between RM3,000 and RM4,000. – BERNAMA
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
