A local man has been arrested for helping a phone fraud gang set up communication gateway (GoIP) devices, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The 36-year-old suspect surnamed Chou works in a warehouse.
According to Ho, the gang, with the assistance of Chou, orchestrated more than 16,000 fraudulent phone calls in Macau. Ho said that the police had already contacted over 10 potential victims and prevented potential losses exceeding 2 million patacas that could have arisen from these deceitful phone calls.
Last Friday, PJ officers conducted a search of a flat rented by Ho in Taipa, where they discovered operational sets of GoIP devices, along with WiFi routers and video surveillance cameras.
Under questioning, Chou told the police that a man claiming to be a mainland police officer had contacted him in August. The officer coerced Chou into depositing money to “resolve” fabricated accusations. However, Chou lacked the required funds to comply with the fraudster’s demands. As a result, the scammer instructed Chou to set up the GoIP devices instead, Ho said.
Chou told the police that the gang provided him with money to rent the flat in Taipa and set up the GoIP devices. Additionally, he received 10,000 patacas in payment from the gang for assisting in their activities.
Chou has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing computer crime charges, according to Ho.
This undated pixelated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows the local suspect and the communication gateway (GoIP) devices in his flat in Taipa.
