A local male university student studying abroad has been defrauded out of 3.5 million patacas in a phone scam by fraudsters who claimed to be from the mainland’s police, a Judiciary Police (PJ) statement said yesterday.
The victim’s father told the police that his son received a call from the mainland’s “Public Security Bureau”, where the scammers claimed that the victim was suspected of money laundering, the statement said.
According to the statement, the scammers requested the victim transfer US$260,000 and HK$1.5 million to designated bank accounts for “investigation” purposes, and also sent the victim several “documents” issued by a purported government department to convince him that the investigation was real.
The statement did not reveal the student’s age.
As the fraudster could accurately tell the victim his personal identity information, he felt threatened and became convinced that he needed to cooperate with the “investigation” while keeping the matter “secret”, the statement said.
The victim then lied to his family by claiming that he needed to present proof of deposit to his landlord. The family members believed him and deposited the money into the victim’s bank account, the statement said.
Only recently did his family discover that all the deposits in the victim’s account had been transferred to a stranger’s account, and the victim’s family finally realised that their son had been scammed and called the police for assistance.
Members of the public are advised to be “alert and [to] never readily trust people” who call claiming that they are government officials. They should always reject the request when they are asked to submit personal or bank information.
The statement also urged residents to stay vigilant about those who can accurately tell them their ID information, and be cautious about a sudden request from relatives and friends asking them to lend them money or raise funds for them. They should check with them regularly whether they have received any suspicious phone calls claiming to represent a public entity, the statement said.
The statement pointed out that one should contact the Judiciary Police’s Anti-Scam Hotline on 88007777, or the crime report hotline on 993, if one gets suspicious calls or has been defrauded, regardless of whether they have suffered any pecuniary losses or not.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows the documents provided by the fraudsters who claimed to be from the mainland’s Public Security Bureau (PSB).
