KUALA LUMPUR: Five individuals were detained suspected of being involved in using Android Package Kit (APK) file applications to scam victims of money from their bank accounts.
Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin said three men and two women aged 17 to 21 were picked up around the federal capital when raids were conducted by a team from Bukit Aman Commercial CID on Aug 24.
He said investigations found all of them were operating under false accounts of a popular chatting site.
"Victims who wanted to know them better would later be offered to see their pictures or videos through another application which would be sent via APK file.
"Apart from that, the victims would be required to buy a token before being allowed to access the application. The application would then be installed to allow withdrawal of money from the victims' accounts," she said in a statement last night.
She said the case was investigated under Section 420/511 of the Penal Code and the link between the syndicate with other cheating cases is under ongoing investigation.
Noorsiah said as a preventive measure, members of the public have been urged to be careful and avoid downloading APK sent directly to the smartphone by unknown individuals.
"Do not install APK applications from unknown or suspicious sources. The security system of short message service (SMS) on the phone should be protected as it receives the One Time Password (otp) from various applications on the smartphone," she said.
She also said for more information and advice, people can contact CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-26101559 or 03-26101599. -- BERNAMA