Receiving suspected scam calls is almost an everyday event for Malaysians now. News of victims who fell for such scams and in the process lost money in the tens or hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of ringgit have become commonplace as well.

It used to be that unsuspecting Malaysians regularly fell for job offers that were too good to be true in neighbouring countries, only to be forced into the unsavoury task of swindling other people of their cash.

After recent high-profile crackdowns on such scam operations in places like Cambodia, the perpetrators seem to be on the move. Malaysia is in their sights but it is most reassuring that the authorities are on alert and on the lookout.

Police have just identified a rented villa in rural Melaka where 11 Japanese as well as four Chinese and two Myanmar citizens were arrested and the usual scam operation paraphernalia seized.