The Health Bureau (SSM) is adamant that its staff never call residents from non-local phone numbers about COVID-19 quarantine measures, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre said in a statement yesterday.
The statement noted that some residents reported recently that they had received phone calls from a non-local number purporting to be from the Health Bureau, claiming that they needed to be quarantined as they had visited a particular shopping centre, where a COVID-19 positive case had been discovered.
The statement underlined that the calls were not made by the bureau since Macau has not had any local COVID-19 cases for some time, so the issue has been reported to the Judiciary Police (PJ) for investigation.
The statement pointed out that SSM staff will always inform the close contacts of a COVID-19 patient and tell them about the quarantine arrangements by calling or texting the person or persons concerned. The statement underlined that the bureau will never use a pre-recorded message or use non-local phone numbers when contacting residents.
According to the statement, the bureau has at its disposal the personal data of residents related to a COVID-19 case, including their name and identification information, such as their Macau ID (BIR) card number, and therefore SSM staff will never request the name or ID number of the person concerned. The statement added that neither will the bureau request any bank account details or any other information concerning money when contacting residents.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday warns the public to be wary of scam calls purporting to be made by the Health Bureau (SSM).
