The Judiciary Police (PJ) urged the public in a statement yesterday not to click on any suspicious website links in order to avoid online fraud.
The statement said that a resident reported to the Judiciary Police recently that he or she had received an SMS message in a foreign language with a link attached on his or her smartphone. The victim clicked on the link and automatically logged into a purported “Macao Post” (澳門郵政) website which indicated that the victim was required to pay a postage fee. The victim thought that there had been a parcel sent to him or her and input personal data according to the instruction and used his or her credit card to pay the purported postage fee.
The statement did not reveal the victim’s gender.
According to the statement, the victim later discovered that his or her credit card had a transaction record of an online purchase which the victim had never made. The victim suspected that his or her personal data had been leaked so he or she reported the case to the Judiciary Police. The local post office (CTT) later confirmed that they did not send out this message.
The statement said that scammers have been using different ways in recent years to defraud victims such as pretending to be employees of the local government or institutions. The Judiciary Police urged the public to be wary when they encounter similar situations, advising them to contact the authorities concerned for verification.
The Judiciary Police reminded the public to be vigilant when receiving calls, messages or emails from unknown sources and not to click on links or websites from unknown sources. Residents should call 993 or the anti-scam hotline 8800 7777 when encountering any suspicious crimes or telephone scams, according to the statement.
