A Hong Kong man has been arrested for spreading phishing messages in Macau, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said in a special press conference yesterday.
The suspect surnamed Cheang told the police he works as a driver.
According to Lei, the police received a report from a local telecom company earlier this month saying that a number of residents had lodged complaints about receiving phishing messages impersonating the telecom company.
A PJ investigator said during the conference that the bogus text claimed that the recipient’s mobile phone number points were about to expire and provided a link to redeem gifts. The recipients were then required to make a payment of one pataca with their credit card and provide their personal information.
Lei noted that two residents reported the phishing scam to the police on Monday. One of the victims told the police that she had been scammed out of 12,000 patacas.
According to Lei, the police identified Cheang as a member of a phishing fraud gang operating in Hong Kong. He was apprehended in a hotel room located in the northern district on Monday. During the arrest, the police confiscated computer equipment, SIM cards, and a modem, which they suspect were used for sending the phishing messages.
Lei noted that Cheang entered Macau on September 7 to spread the scam messages here as instructed by the gang, after which he promptly left Macau. Under questioning, he claimed that the devices were handed to him by the gang at the Barrier Gate checkpoint. He told the police that he received 1,500 yuan (1,650 patacas) for each trip to Macau.
According to the investigator, Cheang sent a total of 2,400 phishing messages, which were received by 1,408 mobile phone numbers.
Cheang was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of fraud and organised and computer crime, Lei said.
Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails or other messages purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers. – Source: Oxford Languages
Evidence such as a modem and SIM cards is displayed during yesterday’s special press conference at the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters in Zape.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded suspect to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters yesterday.
– Photos: William Chan
