Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon said in a regular press conference yesterday that a local woman fell victim to a fake police scam, losing one million patacas.
The victim is under the age of 30, Leng said.
According to Leng, the victim received a call on June 10 from an individual claiming to be a staff member of the “Shanghai Anti-Fraud Centre”. The person alleged that the phone number linked to the victim’s mainland travel permit was involved in criminal activities, including intimidation and fraud.
The caller then transferred the victim to a “Shanghai police officer”, who instructed her to participate in a video conference and relocate to a hotel for “activity surveillance”, citing her status as a suspect.
For three days, the victim stayed in a hotel in the central district, reporting her activities to the fraudster. Starting from June 12, the scammer coerced her into utilising the screen-sharing function on her phone to review her bank statements. The “police officer” also sent her a link, through which she entered her personal and banking details. Leng said that the link was a phishing attempt by the fraudsters.
The scammers then directed the victim to transfer all her funds to another of her bank accounts which the scammers already had control of. Between June 12 and July 19, the woman transferred around 800,000 patacas to this account.
On Wednesday, the fraudster told the victim to contact the Macau police about the investigation. It was then that the victim was informed by the Judiciary Police (PJ) that she had been scammed.
Leng underlined the importance of public vigilance regarding the selection of “cookies” when providing personal and banking information. Anyone encountering fraud or suspecting they have been scammed can call the anti-fraud enquiry hotline 8800 7777 or the crime report hotline 993.
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Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference at the PJ Headquarters in Zape. – Photo: William Chan
