A male casino dealer was arrested on Thursday for his involvement in three “guess who I am” telephone fraud scams, totalling 180,000 patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said during a special press conference on Friday.
Lei noted that the local suspect, aged 37, surnamed Lo, is alleged to have provided a bank account to assist a telephone fraud gang in receiving fraudulent money.
The Judiciary Police received three reports from the victims of “guess who I am” scams separately in August and this month, in which they were defrauded out of a total of 180,000 patacas by a purported “son in law” and “friend”, as well as “compatriot from the same town in the mainland as the victim” respectively, according to Lei.
Upon receiving the reports, Lei said, the Judiciary Police identified Lo as the holder of the bank account to which the victims transferred money, adding that PJ officers arrested Lo when he visited the PJ headquarters in Zape on Thursday to enquire why his bank account had been frozen.
Under questioning, Lo, who denied committing the crime, claimed that in order to help a “friend” to save some money secretly, he had lent his bank account to the “friend” since August. Lo also told the police that whenever money was deposited into his account, he would assist in transferring the money out of the account through e-banking or underground banks in the mainland, adding that he had received 16,500 patacas in payment.
Lo was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Friday, facing charges of money laundering and fraud involving a considerably large amount of money.
The hooded suspect of three “guess who I am” scams is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle. – Photo courtesy of TDM
