A local woman fell for an online dating scam, where her “fiancé”, whom she had met online just a month ago, sent her a gift last month for which she was purportedly required to transfer 10,000 patacas as a “customs clearance fee” before she could pick it up, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said in a press conference on Friday.
The spokesperson did not reveal the age and the occupation of the female victim.
The police said that the woman in the case reported that she had met a male friend on the internet on March 13, and the two hit it off immediately, became online lovers, and even started to “talk about marriage”.
During the period, the “fiancé” said that he would send gifts from overseas, after which the victim was notified by a “shipping company staff member” that the parcel was on its way to Macau, but the victim first needed to pay 10,000 patacas in “customs clearance fees”, the police said, adding that as she believed it, she transferred the money to the designated account.
However, the police said, the “fiancé” continued to demand money from the victim for other reasons, and when the victim went to the bank intending to transfer more money on April 15, the tellers grew suspicious and notified the police to follow up on the case.
The woman reported a total loss of 10,000 patacas in “customs clearance fees”. The police took over the investigation of the case, but no one has been arrested yet.
The Macau Customs Service (SA) said in a statement yesterday that it will never collect any customs clearance fees from residents, nor will it ask residents to pay any fees by remittance or transfer over the phone or online, and that residents should not be misled by any notifications received on the phone regarding the payment of customs clearance fees.
According to the Customs Service, in terms of the payment of fines, the person concerned will be informed or the details will be published in newspapers notifying the person concerned about the relevant administrative penalty they have to pay in person, and that the payment should be made in person at the Finance Services Bureau (DSF), or through the Customs Service’s official website.
The statement also reminded residents that if one needs to enter their personal, bank account or credit card information on the internet, they should verify the authenticity of the information through official channels to avoid falling for scams.
In case of any suspicion of customs services, residents should immediately call the SA hotline 8989 4317 for enquiries or verification to avoid being cheated. When suspecting of being cheated, residents should immediately call the anti-fraud enquiry hotline of the police station on 8800 7777 or the police report hotline on 993.
Image courtesy of Security National Bank
