The Judiciary Police (PJ) urged people in a statement on Wednesday to be wary of phone scams from purported local government entities or organisations.
According to the statement, PJ officers recently received a report from a resident pointing out that he or she received a phone call from a “Health Bureau staff”, claiming that they had got his or her phone number from the phone registration records, claiming that the resident must undergo quarantine as he or she had been to a local high-risk area.
The statement noted that the “Health Bureau staff” also claimed that the resident’s personal information had been stolen and then transferred the call to someone who was impersonating a “public security officer” who then transferred the call to a “prosecutor”. The statement added that the resident was then asked to switch the phone call to a video call.
Afterwards, the statement noted, the “prosecutor” told the resident that he or she was involved in a money laundering case, so he or she needed to provide his or her bank account number and passcode for an income test. After providing such banking information, the statement added, the resident found that some money from his or her bank account had been withdrawn by someone so the resident reported the case to the police.
The statement underlined that in an investigation related to the government’s special COVID-19 prevention and control measures, the Judiciary Police will contact residents to merely confirm their personal data but not ask them to provide the data to them.
The Judiciary Police urged people who receive such phone calls, especially calls asking to provide personal data, such as ID card and bank account numbers, as well as calls purporting to transfer the call to other government entities or organisations, or requesting money transfers, to hang up immediately, in order to prevent criminals from being able to obtain personal data in an attempt to defraud the victim.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police on Wednesday urges the public to be wary of bogus phone calls from “government officials”.
