A local man reported to the Judiciary Police on Sunday that he had been cheated out of 22,600 yuan (28,760 patacas) and HK$24,250 in a nude photo scam early this year, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said at a press briefing on Monday.
According to Ho, the victim, who is in his twenties, told the police that he got to know a female netizen in January this year. They started to communicate through a chat app and shared nude photos of themselves. The woman later claimed that she would come to Macau to meet the victim and asked him to advance her the transportation and travel fees. The victim then transferred six times a total of 22,600 yuan (28,760 patacas) to a designated account in the mainland.
On February 9, the woman claimed that she had to delay her trip to Macau due to work commitments, and asked the victim to buy her a tablet computer for her work. The victim bought her a tablet computer worth HK$5,550. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the victim was unable to go to the mainland to send it to her. Afterwards, the woman did not contact the victim, Ho said.
According to Ho, the victim received a message on February 14 from a man who claimed to be the woman’s elder brother. The man told the victim that his sister had lost her job due to the nude photo she shared with him. The man blackmailed the victim out of HK$18,700 and told him to give the money to a woman who would meet him in a casino-resort hotel in Cotai the next day. The victim did so.
On February 17, the man told the victim to give him via another person the tablet computer he had bought for his sister and also to pay 20,000 yuan to “solve the problem”. The victim then met a woman on the same night at a taxi rank in Cotai and gave her the computer. However, the victim was unable to pay the 20,000 yuan. Afterwards, the man continued to hassle and threaten the victim who later discussed the predicament with his family. He finally realised that he had been cheated so he decided to report the case to the police, Ho said.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam looks on during a press conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape on Monday. Photo: Camy Tam
