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At least 98 people were arrested on Saturday by Turkish security forces over the alleged looting of damaged buildings, robbery or defrauding victims of last week's devastating earthquake, Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu reported.

According to security sources, who wished to remain anonymous "due to media restrictions," investigations were carried out into at least 42 suspects in Turkey's southern Hatay province over claims of looting damaged buildings, Anadolu reported.

Two other people were also arrested after posing as aid workers and allegedly trying to loot six truckloads of food for quake victims in Hatay province, the agency said.

At least six people were also arrested in Istanbul over allegedly defrauding a victim of the earthquake in southern Gaziantep by phone, Anadolu said.

Elsewhere in the country, dozens of other suspects were arrested for alleged looting and robbery in quake-hit areas, Anadolu said.

The suspects had been arrested across at least eight provinces including Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Adana, Gaziantep, and Sanliurfa, it added.