A local woman lost 300,000 patacas online in an “international gold investment” scam after her online “boyfriend” told her that it was very profitable, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Lam said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Ho, the 30-year-old local female victim met a male netizen on a social platform in early June and they quickly became an online couple. During their virtual relationship, the male successfully persuaded the victim to invest online in “international gold” through a website, Ho said, adding that the victim deposited 300,000 patacas from June 9 to August 1 into five bank accounts for the “investment”.
Ho said the victim noted on June 22 that her “investment” had grown to 430,000 patacas and attempted to withdraw part of it. After she received 18,000 patacas cash from the website, she fully trusted the “investment” and re-invested the 18,000 patacas, Ho said.
According to Ho, when the victim tried to withdraw all the cash on Thursday, the website “staff” told her that she needed to pay to “upgrade her membership” first. Ho said that the victim then asked her virtual boyfriend for help but received no response and realised that she might have been cheated. She reported the case to the Judiciary Police on Saturday, saying that she had been defrauded out of 300,000 patacas, said Ho.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference.
Photo: William Chan
