The Judiciary Police (PJ) urged residents on Saturday in a statement to remain vigilant against COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) personnel fraudsters.
According to the statement, a local resident reported that he or she had received a suspicious call from someone claiming to be a COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing staff member on Saturday.
The statement noted that the caller, who had the call prefix “+853”, proceeded to explain that the victim’s test registration data was insufficient and asked for personal identity information. The statement added that after suspecting that the caller was a impersonating government quarantine staff member to commit fraud, the victim refused to provide the information and immediately hung up.
The statement underlined that a similar telephone fraud call was also reported on Saturday, indicating that there are attempts by some people to defraud residents by taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic or people’s current livelihood issues.
The statement pointed out that the Judiciary Police issued a notice last month to remind the public to be vigilant against fraudulent phone calls pretending to come from government bureaus.
The statement urged the public to stay vigilant against fraud and avoid being taken advantage of by the offenders. According to the statement, the public should also be attentive to phone calls from unknown numbers and to verify calls from strangers through reliable channels. The PJ also reminded the public that fraudsters can also use software to forge the caller ID to fake calls from a purported authority. The statement also urged the public not to reveal personal information or transfer money to strangers while anti-fraud information should continue to be shared by the community.
The statement noted that if fraud or other crimes are suspected, the Judiciary Police Anti-scam Hotline 8800 7777 or the Crime Report Hotline 993 can be contacted for help.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Saturday warns the public against the “Fraudulent Nucleic Acid Testing Programme” to illegally obtain personal data.
