The Judiciary Police (PJ) warned the public in a statement yesterday about a phishing SMS sent out by scammers with a link to a fake Macau government portal website where would-be victims will be asked for credit card details to “pay their fines for ‘traffic offences’”.
The statement noted that the Judiciary Police recently discovered that there have been people sending out a phishing SMS that claim to be from the government. The fraudulent short message service claims that recipients need to “pay their fines for ‘traffic offences’” by clicking an enclosed link that requires credit card details.
The link redirectes recipients to a phishing website that closely resembles the actual Macau government portal website and prompts users to enter the registration number of their vehicle, according to the statement. They are then required to provide credit card details including their card number, expiration date, cardholder’s name, and security code, for purported “identity verification”.
The statement underlined that to avoid data theft, the Judiciary Police Anti-Fraud and Coordination Centre is warning members of the public to be wary when receiving such messages and not to click any links or enter their account or credit card information.
The statement also noted that the government will only notify vehicle owners that they need to pay a traffic fine and will not include any link in the SMS.
The statement pointed out that if there are doubts about the authenticity of an SMS, one can call the actual institutions to verify it, while those suspecting they have been scammed should immediately call the Judiciary Police’s Anti-Fraud hotline on 8800 7777 or the crime report hotline on 993.
This poster provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday warns members of the public of the fake “pay fines for ‘traffic offences’” phishing SMS.
