A middled-age local man fell victim to an online dating scam in which he lost 180,000 patacas, Judiciary Police spokesman Cheong Un Hong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Cheong, on May 23, the victim met a woman through the online dating app Momo*. The woman’s profile displayed a QR code, which the victim scanned out of interest and added her as a friend, Cheong said.
During their conversation, the woman said that a meeting could be arranged, but an upfront payment was required, Cheong said, adding that she first asked the victim to transfer 28 yuan (33 patacas) as a “verification fee” for transport, and then 210 yuan as a “verification fee” for the hotel.
Cheong did not say whether the conversation between the two contained any sexual innuendo.
After transferring these amounts, Cheong said, the victim successfully received refunds each time, and therefore believed the situation to be genuine.
After that, the woman claimed that a “matching fee” of 1,190 yuan was required, according to Cheong.
Following the victim’s transfer, the woman said that an operational error had caused the account to be frozen and requested another transfer to unlock it, Cheong said, adding that later that day, the victim made multiple transfers as instructed, but never received any of the money back. Suspecting fraud, the victim finally reported the case to the Judiciary Police on Tuesday.
According to Cheong, the victim told PJ officers that the total loss was 150,000 yuan, equivalent to about 180,000 patacas.
*Momo (陌陌) is a social networking application developed by Beijing Momo Technology Co., Ltd. - part of Hello Group Inc. Launched in August 2011, it is designed primarily for meeting and interacting with strangers in one’s vicinity. It has the reputation of being a “hook-up app”. - DeepSeek
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Un Hong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Armindo Neves
