A local woman reported yesterday to the Judiciary Police (PJ) that she was cheated out of 3.9 million patacas in an online investment scam, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said in a statement yesterday.
The statement did not disclose any information on the victim’s age and occupation.
According to the statement, the victim told the police that she met a male netizen through a karaoke app who claimed to be “the head of the nation’s military”. He told the victim that he was familiar with the loopholes of the internet, and could take advantage of those purported loopholes to help the victim earn a steady profit from her investment in futures.
The fraudster later told the victim to download a new browser application, and then log into a purported investment website of a mainland exchange through the browser, the statement said, adding that fraudster provided the victim with what he claimed was his account and password of the “investment website” in order to gain her trust.
The victim did make a small “profit” during the early stages of the investment, the statement said, but when the victim increased her investment and again – apparently – earned a profit, she requested her “profit”. However, the request was rejected by the fraudster who came up with various excuses to withhold the “profit” from her.
The victim mentioned the incident to her family only to find that she had been cheated, the statement said, adding that she kept transferring money to the mainland bank account provided by the fraudster for three days, resulting in losses equivalent to about 3.9 million patacas.
The statement reminded residents to be cautious and not to trust online investments with guarantees of “high profits”. One may call the PJ anti-scam hotline on 8800 7777 or the crime report hotline on 993 for assistance if one suspects to be a victim of fraud or other crimes.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows the fake investment website of a purported mainland exchange.
