A café owner has been defrauded out of 12,400 patacas in a scam involving 30 mattresses that he had purportedly ordered, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said at a press conference yesterday.
According to Ho, the male victim received a phone call from a man claiming to be an employee of a school on Thursday. The man claimed that the school wanted to order coffee beans worth 3,000 patacas, and that he would pay the victim soon.
The following day, the man contacted the victim by phone, claiming that the school intended to order 30 mattresses but that he had had an argument with the “mattress vendor”. He asked the victim if he could handle the order. Wanting to help and ensure the success of the coffee deal, the victim agreed.
Subsequently, the scammer sent the victim a photo of a purported bank transfer receipt amounting to 95,400 patacas. The victim proceeded to transfer 92,400 patacas, deducting the cost of the coffee beans, to the “mattress vendor” in two separate transactions. However, upon checking his bank account, the victim discovered that the 95,400 patacas had never been transferred to his account.
Realising that he had fallen victim to a scam, the victim promptly contacted the bank, which managed to halt part of the transaction.
In the end, he lost 12,400 patacas and reported the case to the police.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference.
– Photo: William Chan
