Hundreds in alleged Asia money scam detained

Police around Asia arrested several hundred suspects on Thursday in co-ordinated raids to bust a gang that swindled victims through phone calls over the Internet. Indonesian authorities said 170 Taiwanese and Chinese people were arrested in the archipelago nation. In Cambodia, 166 Chinese people and a Vietnamese woman were arrested, national police spokesman Lieutenant General Kiet Chantharith said.
Police in Taiwan and Thailand confirmed making arrests but provided few details. A spokesman for Malaysia's Federal Police said he was unaware of any operation, though Kiet said 37 people were arrested there. Police Major General Panya Mamen of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau said in Bangkok that gang members based in Thailand obtained details of banking and credit card accounts, and used the information to trick victims they phoned in other countries into transferring money, which ended up in Taiwan. It was not clear what charges would be pressed in any of the countries. Cross-border crime is difficult to prosecute, and laws are hazy concerning crimes conducted over the Internet.
Kiet said those arrested had entered Cambodia as tourists and businessmen but then began operating their scheme to call people outside Cambodia over Internet phone services. He said the gang was well organised, and that police acted after receiving complaints from several victims.
He did not describe the scam in detail, but Thai authorities say gang members placed calls to victims in the guise of being from their bank, using information about their accounts to support their credibility, and then convincing them that there was a need to transfer their funds. The tricksters apparently used Internet-based phone services to make it appear the calls originated from the victims' home countries. An Indonesian national police spokesman, Colonel Boy Rafli Amar, said in Jakarta that raids resulted in the detention of 170 people from Taiwan and China 120 men and 50 women suspected of involvement in cybercrime, after information was provided by the authorities in those two countries.
The 97 Taiwanese and 73 Chinese were arrested at 10 locations in the capital and its satellite towns of Bekasi and Serpong, he said, adding that police and immigration officials would examine their documents before co-ordinating with their home countries for further measures. Major Heribertus Omposunggu, the police chief of Serpong, where 30 people were arrested, said the suspects were believed to have swindled their victims using the Internet and mobile phone text messages.