A young woman from the Chinese mainland has fallen victim to a “fake police” scam, resulting in a total loss of 1.2 million yuan (1.3 million patacas), Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Wai Lok said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Ho, the Judiciary Police (PJ) received a notification from the Chinese Mainland Anti-Fraud Centre on Friday about a possible victim of a “fake police” scam. The police immediately contacted the victim that same day in Cotai.
Ho noted that the woman had received a call on September 19 from someone impersonating a judicial officer from the Chinese mainland, demanding that she transfer funds into a designated account under the guise of a “bail review”. Believing the scam to be genuine, she followed the instructions and transferred a total of 1.2 million yuan in four separate transactions to a designated Hong Kong bank account.
Young local loses 27,850 patacas in ‘fake police’ scam
Meanwhile, Ho also added that a young local man has also fallen victim to a “fake police” scam, losing a total of 27,850 patacas. The victim received a call on Tuesday from someone claiming to be a police officer from the Chinese mainland. The caller claimed that the victim was involved in a telecom fraud case and requested communication via FaceTime. During the call, the fraudster convinced the victim to share his screen while entering the password for his bank account under the pretext of a “funds review.” The victim later discovered that 27,850 patacas had been transferred from his account. Realising he had been scammed, he reported the case to the police later that day.
At the time of yesterday’s press conference, no arrests had been made in either case.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Wai Lok looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
