The Judiciary Police (PJ) said in a statement that as of yesterday 68 phone scams had been reported since February 5, with eight people falling for the scams with a total loss of nearly one million patacas.
The statement urged the public to be vigilant against all kinds of phone scams due to their high incidence.
According to the statement, fraudsters pose as government officials, telecom operators, customer service of e-commerce platforms and so on, falsely claiming that the receiver’s phone number and bank account are involved in a crime. The result is that identity information is being stolen and, for instance, express delivery packages are containing contraband.
The statement said that the fraudsters then transfer the call to purported public security personnel and wait for the opportunity to steal the receiver’s online bank account, password and verification code details, so that they can “empty” his or her account.
The statement said that in case of fraudulent phone calls, residents should reject any operation involving the disclosure of one’s bank account passwords, verification codes, and account balances.
The statement also reminded anyone who receives a call from an unknown number asking for personal information to “hang up” immediately.
If defrauded, residents should call the fraud hotline at 8800 7777 or the crime report hotline at 993, regardless of whether there is monetary loss.
This infographic provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday alerts residents to the city’s current wave of phone scams.
