KUALA LUMPUR: A syndicate impersonating prison officers to solicit money from inmates’ families and relatives to buy so-called special meals has been exposed by the Prisons Department.

The scam was detected after the department received several complaints from victims who had received suspicious WhatsApp messages from various mobile phone numbers.

The syndicate used fake aliases such as Sjn Haziq, Sjn Akmal, Sjn Nazri, Sjn Zul, Sjn Sani, Sjn Zam and other fabricated names to deceive family members or relatives of inmates.