Late last month, another telephone scam gang  based in Cambodia was smashed and 168 people were arrested in a joint operation mounted by mainland and Cambodian police. It is understood this gang did not target Hongkongers.

This morning, more than 200 mainland suspects arrested in Indonesia and Cambodia were sent back to the mainland on four chartered flights, Xinhua reported.

Hong Kong, mainland, Taiwan police crack Indonesia-based phone scam gang

 South China Morning Post | 10 November 2015

• 

indonesian police sit in front of some of the detainees. Photos: SCMP Pictures

Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan police have cracked two overseas-based syndicates operating phone scams and arrested more than 400 people in a joint operation with counterparts in regional countries.

Investigations showed that one of the gangs based in Indonesia allegedly duped Hongkongers out of HK$118 million in 431 cases this year, police sources said today.

Describing it as the biggest telephone deception syndicate, the source said the gang set up its operational base and call centres in Indonesia where 224 people from the mainland and Taiwan were arrested in the joint operation last month.

 

Guangdong police picked up another 39 people after they fled Indonesia and returned to the mainland.

 

Hong Kong, mainland and Taiwan police are understood to have gone to Indonesia in the middle of last month ahead of a series of raids on eight locations in Indonesia.

“Investigations indicated that it was the biggest syndicate involving people posing as mainland officials to carry out phone scams,“ said one source with knowledge of the operation.

But he said so far, no money had been recovered. 

“The victims deposited money in different mainland bank accounts which was then transferred to Taiwan,” the source said. “Officers lost track of the money after it went to Taiwan. Police are still investigating how the gang laundered the money.”

Some of the detainees led out Jakarta international airport

Police believe the masterminds of the syndicate were from Taiwan, and they recruited mainlanders and Taiwanese to make scam calls from Indonesia.

It is understood that its members were trained to defraud victims by following a script outlining their roles and what to say over the phone.

The source said the gang also used different computer servers in different countries to avoid detection.

“The internet calls were made in Indonesia through many computer servers that are located in mainland China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and other Asian places,” he said.

Another source said Hong Kong police were responsible for locating the call centres with overseas help and identifying the syndicate’s key figures and how they carried out their operations.

He said the joint police operation was coordinated by the mainland Ministry of Public Security. 

It is understood that another major racket that targeted Hongkongers had its operational base in the Philippines. “We believe the phone scam gangs are headed by people from Taiwan who run their operations in Asian countries,” the source said.

In the past 10 months, Hongkongers have reported being cheated out of about HK$265 million in 1,255 cases by fraudsters claiming to be calling from mainland authorities, including law enforcement agencies.

Victims are usually told they have broken mainland laws and have to prove their willingness to cooperate by transferring money to mainland bank accounts.

Late last month, another telephone scam gang  based in Cambodia was smashed and 168 people were arrested in a joint operation mounted by mainland and Cambodian police. It is understood this gang did not target Hongkongers.

This morning, more than 200 mainland suspects arrested in Indonesia and Cambodia were sent back to the mainland on four chartered flights, Xinhua reported.