ZHUHAI, Nov. 20 -- Thirty-nine members of a large telephone scam ring, which targeted Malaysians, have been arrested in south China's Guangdong Province, police said on Thursday.

The ring was led by two brothers from Taiwan, and the majority of its employees were Chinese Malaysians, said a Zhuhai City public security spokesman.

The police confiscated ill-gotten gains and paraphernalia worth more than 60 million yuan (9.8 million U.S. dollars).

Beginning in 2012, the two Taiwanese men opened offices in Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Dongguan, all in Guangdong; and Changde City in Hunan Province, according to the spokesman.

The gang's modus operandi was to pose as customer service staff from Malaysian banks, claim that the victims' accounts had been compromised, and trick them into wiring the gang money, he said.

Members were caught during police raids in late September.

Telecom-based fraud is a growing crime in China. During a meeting on Nov. 17 between the Chinese Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun and Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Guo hailed the success of bilateral cooperation to crackdown on the crime.