A "fly-in, fly-out" criminal syndicate is allegedly behind an orchestrated spiritual blessing scam that has netted millions by preying on elderly women.
Two people have already been arrested and dozens more are under investigation for swindling multiple victims.
The scammers typically come to Australia from China for short stints to carry out the fraud, convincing older women their money and belongings need to be "blessed" to avoid bad luck, policy say.
"These offenders swarm these vulnerable victims, usually Asian older females," NSW Police Detective Superintendent Guy Magee said on Friday.
"They swarm like a pack of hyenas."
A 63-year-old woman was arrested at Sydney Airport after arriving from China on Thursday night.
She is accused of defrauding a 77-year-old woman out of about $130,000 in cash and jewellery.
The woman has been charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, participating in a criminal group and demanding property in company with menaces with intent to steal.
A man allegedly involved in the scam was arrested at Brisbane Airport while attempting to return to China.
NSW Police will seek extradition on Monday.
Police later revealed surveillance footage of an incident from October in the hope of identifying more members of the alleged scam syndicate.
In the video, a group of three women approach a 77-year-old lady at Blacktown, in western Sydney, before allegedly convincing her to hand over jewellery worth tens of thousands of dollars.
More than 50 individuals are believed to be connected to the sophisticated scam across the east coast of Australia, with 11 arrest warrants issued.
It is the latest example of a scam aimed at people of Asian backgrounds, where alleged offenders "capitalise on the vulnerabilities of that community around superstition", Det Supt Magee said.
"They will convince them to go and speak to a spiritual healer, to go to their home and retrieve their life savings, all their jewellery."
The alleged scammers convince victims that items in a bag have been blessed and tell them not to open it, or they will face "bad fortune".
"Unfortunately, the victims are opening those bags to find their money and jewellery is simply not in there," Det Supt Magee added.
Police have received reports of more than 80 incidents across Sydney since 2023.
The scams allegedly netted $3 million in cash and valuables.
It is alleged that men control the syndicate, with women playing a role in engaging the victims and encouraging them to hand over valuables.
There are fears more crimes are going unreported due to shame and embarrassment.
"Anecdotally, the offending is probably at least double what we think," Det Supt Magee said.
Police have warned people to not hand over money or jewellery for blessing rituals.
Others have been urged to keep watch on older family members with limited English and warn them they could be the target of the orchestrated scams.
