The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) is urging members of the public to exercise caution when approached by third parties requesting money transfers or screen-sharing to avoid the exposure of personal banking information and passwords.
Macau’s quasi-central bank, which issued the reminder in a statement on Sunday, noted that it was concerned about recent incidents where people have been tricked by criminals into transferring money into unknown bank accounts.
The statement also highlighted instances where people have been asked to activate their screen-sharing function and then use their online or mobile banking, exposing sensitive information such as bank account numbers, card numbers, login passwords, and transaction passwords for unauthorised transactions.
The financial regulator reminded members of the public to be on high alert “when encountering requests from third parties to transfer money or perform mobile screen sharing operations to avoid disclosing important banking information and passwords”, the statement pointed out
The statement said that those doubting the origin of any calls or messages can use the Judiciary Police’s (PJ) Anti-Fraud Programme to assess potential risks. Those who have shared personal information as well as bank account details, card numbers, passwords or have conducted any transactions through calls, messages, hyperlinks or screen sharing should immediately contact their relevant financial institution.
One can also reach PJ’s anti-fraud enquiry hotline on 8800 7777 or the reporting hotline on 993.
Meanwhile, “AIA International Limited” has also issued a notice on its website and app in line with the financial regulator’s request to warn members of the public to be wary of counterfeit websites pretending to be the company to avoid fraud and losses, AMCM noted in a separate statement yesterday,
The statement yesterday reiterated that one can use PJ’s Anti-Fraud Programme to check for fraud whenever they have doubts about phone numbers and hyperlinks, as well as contact the aforementioned hotlines to report anything dubious.
This photo taken in 2022 and downloaded from the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) Facebook page last night shows its headquarters on Guia Hill.
