• Malaysian police arrested 35 foreign nationals at two houses in Bayan Lepas, Penang, at 2.10pm on 2 November 2026.
  • Police say the syndicate has operated since September and targeted Chinese women through Telegram.
  • Officers seized 119 mobile phones and three laptops, valued at about RM60,000.
  • Malaysia recorded 251 love scam cases and RM6.6M in losses in the first quarter of 2026.

The Star reported on 4 November that Malaysian police arrested 35 foreign nationals in Penang on suspicion of running an online love scam and gold-investment scam centre. Balik Pulau OCPD Asst Comm Anuwal Ab Wahab issued the statement, according to The Star, two days after the raid on two houses in Bayan Lepas.

The dating angle is indirect: no dating app is named in any report, and Telegram is the only platform identified. Operators should still read it, because the alleged method starts with a relationship.

The DII Take

The alleged playbook is romance first, investment pitch second, and police say the targeting ran through a messaging app rather than a dating product. If that holds, the damage sits outside any dating company's moderation reach, although the reports do not say where victims were first approached. Dating trust and safety teams should treat the move to chat apps as the pressure point, not the profile.

What police say they found

Malay Mail and theSun, citing Anuwal, report that the suspects were 33 Chinese men, one Chinese woman and one Taiwanese man. The Star quotes Anuwal: 'Initial investigations revealed that the syndicate is believed to have been operating since September, targeting Chinese women through the Telegram messaging application'. Utusan reports the suspects allegedly built romantic relationships with victims before offering online gold investments.

According to The Star, officers seized 119 mobile phones and three laptops that police believe were used in the scams, with the haul valued at about RM60,000.

Police are investigating under Section 420 (cheating) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Penal Code, according to theSun, which says all suspects are on remand. The reports do not give victim numbers, victim losses or details of how the gold scheme worked, and none says charges have been filed.

The wider numbers

Police data reported in the press shows the scale. Malaysia logged 100 love scam cases and RM3.5M in losses in January 2026, according to Bukit Aman CCID director Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa, as reported by The Star. The Vibes reports 251 cases and RM6,660,696.36 for January to March.

Love scams are small beside the wider total. Media Selangor reports 16,880 online scam cases and more than RM555.7M in losses in the first quarter. In the US, the FTC said romance scam reports in 2023 totalled 64,003, with reported losses of $1.14B.

According to The Star, officers seized 119 mobile phones and three laptops that police believe were used in the scams, with the haul valued at about RM60,000.

What to watch

Watch for charges, a victim count and any disclosure of how victims were first approached. If a dating platform surfaces in that detail, the story changes for operators. Until then, it is a case study in off-platform risk. DII also recently covered an alleged $706,000 fraud arrest in the Philippines.

  • Malaysian police say the syndicate targeted victims through Telegram, which points to risk in off-platform chat rather than on dating apps, though first contact is not reported.
  • No victim count, losses or charges have been reported for the 35 arrests in Penang.
  • Malaysian police data shows 251 love scam cases in Q1 2026, a small share of 16,880 online scam cases.

Sources: Love Stinks - when a scammer is involved (US Federal Trade Commission); 35 nabbed in crackdown on love scam, gold investment fraud syndicate (The Star); Police arrest 35 foreigners over love scam, gold investment fraud syndicate in Penang (theSun); Police arrest 35 foreigners in Penang love scam, gold investment fraud raids (Malay Mail); 35 warga asing ditahan, sindiket 'love scam', pelaburan emas terbongkar (UtusanMelayuPlus); RM3.5mil lost to love scams in January 2026, says cops (The Star); Commercial crime cases up nearly 13 pct in first quarter (Media Selangor); Love scams cost Malaysians over RM6.6 million in first quarter, police warn (The Vibes)