A frozen meat shop owner has been defrauded out of 270,000 yuan (317,000 patacas) in a food order scam, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said at a press conference on Monday.
According to Ho, the owner reported to the police on Friday that a male “school staff member” had ordered meat from the shop last Wednesday. After they struck a deal, the “school staff member” added that the school wanted 60 boxes of tinned beef which the victim did not have in stock. The purported school staff member then instructed him to order the tinned beef for 120,000 yuan from a mainland supplier, and the victim was told that he could earn a commission of 30,000 yuan from the order.
Ho noted that when the owner asked the “school staff member” to pay for the order in advance, he sent a photo of a purported bank transfer receipt of 150,000 yuan to the victim. After the owner transferred 120,000 yuan to a mainland bank account, the scammer asked for another 100 boxes and sent the owner another purported bank transfer receipt.
The owner then transferred 150,000 yuan to the mainland bank account, after which the “school staff member” kept asking him to order more tins of beef. Finally becoming suspicious, the owner checked his bank account and realised that he had never been paid, and he lost contact with the scammer.
The victim reported a loss of 270,000 yuan.
