A local jobless woman in her thirties reported to the police on Sunday that she had been defrauded out of US$14,800 (118,400 patacas) and around HK$450,000 (463,580 patacas) in two online dating scams, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kam Fai said at a regular press conference on Monday.
According to Cheong, the victim told the police that she met a Malaysian male netizen online who claimed to be a “marine contractor” in June last year. The man wanted to develop a relationship with her but she rejected him. In September, the netizen claimed that he needed money to “buy tools”, but there was a problem with the bank and he was unable to withdraw any cash. He asked the victim to lend him US$4,500 for “emergency use”. He promised to repay the money in a week. The victim remitted the money through online banking to the man’s bank account in Malaysia. Afterwards, the netizen repeatedly came up with excuses when the victim asked him to repay the money, and he even asked her to lend him more money, claiming that he would come to Macau to meet her so that he could return the money in person.
The victim remitted the money in five tranches totalling US$9,200 between October 14 and December 1 last year to a bank account provided by the man. However, the scammer kept on asking for more money and the victim finally refused his requests, telling him that she was short of money.
Meanwhile, the victim met a “British engineer” through a dating app in November last year. Cheong said the victim also refused to develop a further relationship with the “engineer”. During their chats, the victim told the “engineer” that she needed to move out as her landlord wanted the flat back. The “engineer” suggested she buy a property but the victim told him that she didn’t have enough money. The “engineer” then told the victim that he could send her money to buy a flat. The victim then received a remittance receipt screenshot of about £600,000 from the “engineer” on November 12, and a month later, the victim received messages through a chat app from a purported “bank staff”, telling her to pay a “handling fee”, “insurance fee”, “international currency inspection fee” and a “fund activation fee” before she could receive the £600,000 (6.67 million patacas).
The victim remitted a total of HK$450,000 to a bank account in Hong Kong, according to Cheong.
Cheong said the victim had never received any money from neither the “contractor” nor the “engineer”, and later she lost contact with them. She finally realised that she had been cheated after confiding in a friend, after which she reported the case to the police.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kam Fai poses during a regular press conference on Monday. Photo: Camy Tam
