The Judiciary Police (PJ) said yesterday that 36 residents fell victim to a new type of online shopping fraud over the past seven days, losing a total of 240,000 patacas.
Scammers created fake social media pages masquerading as various businesses to offer purported discounts, enticing potential victims to scan a QR code that bound their MPay* accounts to third-party online shopping platform accounts controlled by the fraudsters.
The police made the announcement during a special press conference yesterday, where Cheong Un Hong, head of the PJ Anti-fraud Coordination Centre, briefed journalists on the fraudsters’ modus operandi.
According to Cheong, between Tuesday last week and Monday this week, the police received reports from 36 local residents who fell victim to the scam. The 36 victims – 17 men and 19 women – comprise four young people, 29 middle-aged individuals, and three senior citizens.
The victims lost a combined total of 240,000 patacas, with individual losses ranging from 428 patacas to 37,000 patacas, Cheong said.
Cheong said that the scammers set up fake pages on various social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, posing as travel agencies, football shirt shops, and other retail outlets. These pages carried fraudulent advertisements offering discounted buffet vouchers, flight tickets, football shirts, and air-conditioning cleaning services.
When interested buyers contacted the scammers, they were instructed to pay via MPay. Subsequently, the fraudsters used excuses such as “the buffet is fully booked” or “the goods are sold out” to falsely claim a refund would be paid, directing the victims to scan a QR code to receive their “refunds”.
In other cases, the scammers sent a QR code directly to the victims, instructing them to scan it to pay for the goods or services.
By scanning the QR code, the victims unwittingly agreed to bind their MPay accounts to a third-party online shopping platform account controlled by the scammers, effectively authorising the fraudsters to make purchases using the victims’ funds.
Cheong urged members of the public to exercise caution when scanning QR codes provided by others and when binding their e-payment accounts to online shopping platforms.
He advised residents to always verify the authenticity of social media pages or advertisements with the physical merchants before making any transactions.
Cheong also recommended that residents adjust the spending limits on their e-payment accounts in line with their personal online shopping habits to mitigate potential risks.
Chu Kin Hang, an executive director of Macau Pass, the operator of MPay, said during the press conference that the company has launched a new function on MPay, in which users will receive an alert when attempting to bind their accounts to a third-party online shopping platform, with the aim of reminding them about possible frauds.
MPay is the leading mobile payment service and digital wallet in Macau, launched and operated by Macau Pass. It is the local equivalent of platforms like Alipay or WeChat Pay, allowing users to make contactless payments via QR codes at retail outlets, pay for public transport (buses and light rail), settle utility bills, and transfer money between users using local bank accounts. Macau Pass is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of AGTech Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. AGTech’s controlling shares are jointly held by the Chinese mainland’s Alibaba Group and Ant Group. – Gemini
Cheong Un Hong (left), head of the PJ Anti-fraud Coordination Centre, PJ spokesman Ho Wai Lok (centre), and Chu Kin Hang, an executive director of Macau Pass, address yesterday’s press conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape. – Photo: PJ
