A local man has fallen victim to a “fake police” phone scam and lost over 1.5 million patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kim Fong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Cheong, the victim received a local call on November 12, in which a man speaking Putonghua claimed that he was a “Central People’s Government Liaison Office” staff member. The scammer made preposterous allegations, claiming that a significant number of fraudulent messages had been sent from the victim’s mainland phone number.
Subsequently, the victim complied with the scammers’ instructions and enabled the screen sharing function on his computer, providing his bank account details and personal information to the fraudster. Later, upon logging into his bank account, the victim realised that his cash had vanished.
Cheong noted that four other victims have recently experienced similar fraudulent tactics from individuals posing as local Health Bureau (SSM) personnel, mainland police officers, and telecom employees. These four victims have suffered losses ranging from 160,000 to 900,000 patacas, respectively.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kim Fong looks on during a regular press conference yesterday.
– Photo: William Chan
