The Judiciary Police (PJ) urged the public in another statement yesterday to beware of fraudulent messages.
According to the statement, the Judiciary Police discovered yesterday that scammers are impersonating the Macau Public Security Police (PSP) and sending fraudulent text messages to members of the public.
The messages claim that the recipients have unpaid traffic offence fines and must pay them via a link provided in the text. If clicked, the link directs users to a fake webpage mimicking the “PSP online enquiry system for traffic offences,” falsely stating that there are “traffic offences” requiring the input of licence plate numbers and credit card details for payment. The scammers then steal the credit card information to make unauthorised transactions, causing the victims financial losses, the statement said.
According to the statement, the Judiciary Police’s Anti-Fraud Enquiry Centre reminds the public that legitimate traffic violation notification messages will only inform vehicle owners of the offence and will never ever include any links. If using a credit card for online transactions, citizens should carefully verify the transaction details (such as merchant name and amount) in the one-time verification code message to ensure that they match, preventing scammers from exploiting the process.
If in doubt, citizens can use the PJ Anti-Fraud App to check the risk level of suspicious websites or call the Anti-Fraud Enquiry Hotline on 8800 7777 or the Emergency Hotline on 993 for assistance.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday warns members of the public of fake “traffic offence fines” messages.
