Two local women have separately fallen victim to an online investment scam and an online “placing order” fraud, resulting in losses of around 250,000 patacas and 43,000 patacas respectively, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said at a regular press conference on Monday.
In the investment scam case, Chan noted that the victim, in September, downloaded a virtual currency trading app called “ftplus,” which was recommended by a former colleague. She proceeded to purchase over 200,000 patacas worth of a cryptocurrency named “USDT” on the platform.
When she tried to withdraw the cryptocurrency, the “customer service” instructed her to pay a “security deposit” of US$4,500 (36,400 patacas). After making the payment, she was still unable to withdraw her funds. Suspecting that she had been deceived, she promptly reported the case to the police.
In the second case, the victim came across an online “work from home” advertisement last Thursday, offering “part-time jobs” that promised a commission upon completing “hotel booking tasks.” After contacting the advertiser, the victim was directed to download an application and create “hotel room orders” on it, which required her to make an advance payment in cryptocurrency and promised a commission of 25 percent, according to Chan.
Upon completing the task, the platform’s “customer service” demanded that the victim deposit more cryptocurrency in order to continue with the tasks, which she complied with. However, in the end, she was unable to retrieve her principal and the commission that she had been promised. Subsequently, she reported the case to the police, reporting a loss of 43,000 patacas, Chan said.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man looks on during Monday’s regular press conference at the PJ headquarters. – Photo: William Chan
