The Judiciary Police (PJ) urged the public in a statement yesterday to be wary of fraudulent calls from a fake government bureau.
According to the statement, a local woman, who is a member of the Judiciary Police Friends of Crime Prevention for Women (司警局婦女防罪之友), informed the Judiciary Police that she had recently received a suspicious call from a local number by someone speaking Cantonese who claimed to be from the local “Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation”. The caller warned her that her phone had shown signs of an anomaly and would soon stop working, and she should press “2” to obtain further details. She found the call suspicious and immediately hung up and reported the case to the police.
The statement underlined that the Judiciary Police discovered that the caller’s number was out of service, adding that there is no such bureau in Macau. The statement pointed out that the number of phone calls impersonating government officials has risen recently, and the Judiciary Police urged residents to be vigilant against fraud and to hang up immediately when they receive such calls.
According to the statement, the public should pay close attention to phone calls from unknown numbers and to verify calls from strangers through reliable channels. The Judiciary Police also reminded the public that scammers can 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 kinds of crimes are suspected, residents should call the Judiciary Police Anti-scam Hotline 8800 7777 or the Crime Report Hotline 993 for help.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday warns the public to be wary of phone calls impersonating government officials.
