A man was defrauded out of 49,800 yuan (60,200 patacas) by impersonators who asked him to pay school fees for his son, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said during a regular conference yesterday.
Ho said that the victim is a 47-year-old man who is a migrant worker from the mainland.
Ho said at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the victim received a friend request on QQ, the social media app, from a stranger whose name was the same as his son’s who is studying in Guangzhou. The impersonator sent a text to the victim and called him dad, Ho said.
The “son” then told the victim that he wanted to register for courses from a university in Beijing, Ho said, adding that the “son” gave a QQ contact to the victim with the name “Academic Affairs Office”, asking him to pay 49,800 yuan in course fees to the office.
Believing it was his “son”, the victim followed the instructions and paid the fees to the impersonator’s bank account, Ho said, adding that the victim soon remembered that his son already had a QQ account and wondered why he had created a new account. After asking his son about the matter, the victim realised that he had been scammed and called the police for help later that day. The case was still under investigation at the time of yesterday’s press conference.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference.
Photo: William Chan
