The Judiciary Police (PJ) urged the public in a statement yesterday to be wary of text messages sent by scammers randomly posing as an old friend via mobile phone messages or WhatsApp.
According to the statement, the content of the fraudulent message will first appear to be from an acquaintance of the victim, then claim to have “sent the message to the wrong number”, but continue chatting with the victim if the victim replies.
After gaining the trust of the victim, the statement pointed out, the fraudsters would introduce virtual currency or A-share investment projects with high returns and persuade the victims to download fake investment apps of unknown origin, the statement said.
In addition, some victims were added to WhatsApp investment groups to receive “investment tips,” and as a result, they were gradually urged to participate unknowingly in bogus investment schemes, the statement said.
In view of the fact that a large number of similar fraud cases have occurred in neighbouring areas, where the victims appeared to have made a profit and initially successfully withdrawn cash, earning a modest “profit”, but when the victims increased the investment and tried to withdraw further “profits”, they would be refused due to “illegal operations” that had led to the freezing of the account.
The statement urged the public to be wary of scams that defraud large sums of money after at first receiving what appears to be a small profit and a promise of higher returns, and not to blindly follow any investment advice that claims high returns and a guaranteed profit.
One may call the PJ anti-scam hotline on 8800 7777 or the crime report hotline on 993 for assistance if one suspects they are a victim of fraud or other crimes.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows details about the scam messages.
