KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 4 -- A British teenager missing in Malaysia for the past three months may have fallen prey to human trafficking linked to online scam call centres, according to the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO).

In a Berita Harian report, MHO secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim said the case of 17-year-old David Balisong showed signs consistent with tactics used by such criminal networks.

He pointed to an email received by Balisong's family on June 9 - three days after he secretly flew from the United Kingdom to Malaysia - which claimed he was in a "safe place" and urged them "not to try to find me."

"This bears all the hallmarks of scam syndicate tactics," Hishamuddin said at a press conference yes...