The Judiciary Police (PJ) warned the public yesterday that scammers have been pretending to be ‘fraud investigators’ to acquire personal information from residents, according to a PJ statement.
The statement underlined that the scam tactic involves fraudsters calling residents with a caller ID starting with “+86 20”, pretending to be a staff member from the “mainland’s anti-fraud centre”. The scammers would then tell the residents that they had been spreading fake information about the pandemic, the statement said.
According to the statement, later a “police officer” would call the resident and claim that the resident’s personal information had been stolen and used in criminal activities. The “police officer” then required the resident to download a communication software so that the “police” can “handle the case” in a video call. The statement added that the scammers showed fake police IDs and fake police station backgrounds during the video call to make it look real.
The statement said that the “police officer” asked the residents to upload their ID and personal photo in the app. The “police officer” would also request the residents to fill in their ID number, bank account number, ATM card number, as well as related passwords and verification codes on the website.
Soon after the calls, the victims found out that money in their accounts had been transferred, after which they called the police immediately for assistance.
The statement said that several similar fraud cases have been reported, and in order to prevent fraud, the statement urges the public to remain vigilant at all times to prevent unscrupulous characters from taking the opportunity to obtain personal information to defraud their victims. The statement warned of the ever-changing tactics of fraudsters, and underlined that the police would never handle cases through online meetings.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday informs the public about their two anti-fraud hotlines.
