Caller claims to be from Ministry of State Security
A female student of a local university told the police on Saturday that she had been cheated out of 12,350 yuan (15,220 patacas) in a phone scam earlier that day, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said in a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Lei, the student, who is her twenties, told the police that she received a call on her smartphone on Saturday from someone who claimed to be from the Ministry of State Security. The “official” told her that her phone number which she registered in Beijing on March 5 had sent out messages referring to “Hong Kong Independence” and “Taiwan Independence” – and therefore she was now under investigation by the ministry. The victim told the “official” that she did not send such messages.
The “official” then purportedly transferred the call to a “Public Security Bureau (PSB) officer” and they communicated via another video app. The “PSB officer” was wearing a uniform, which led the victim to believe that the case was true.
The victim provided some of her personal data to the “PSB officer”.
Another “PSB officer” later sent her a link to submit her personal data such as ID card number, her parents’ occupations, bank account number, and smartphone payment account. After the victim had provided the data, the “PSB official” told her that the investigation would take time and abruptly hung up.
Lei said the victim later called the bank and discovered that 12,350 yuan had been withdrawn from her account. The victim finally realised that she had been cheated and reported the case to the police.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Lei poses during yesterday’s regular press conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape. Photo: Camy Tam
