A jobless woman in her fifties reported to the police on Saturday that she had been cheated out of 453,700 patacas in an online scam, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Mark Sou Sio Keong said at a regular press conference yesterday.
1st case involving a ‘US oil prospector’
According to Sou, the victim told the police that she met an “US oil prospector” netizen on April 30 through social media and developed an online relationship. The scammer requested the victim communicate via WeChat and in mid-May he asked the victim to lend him 55,500 yuan (65,000 patacas), claiming that he needed the money to pay for the repairs to his company’s machine which had been damaged by workers, causing the company to face financial difficulties.
The victim deposited 57,700 yuan into a bank account in Zhuhai. A few days later, the scammer claimed that he could not find suitable spare parts for the machine and asked the victim to lend him 45,000 euros (422,440 patacas) to purchase a new machine. However, the victim told the scammer that she could only lend him 200,000 yuan (234,715 patacas) and asked her friend to deposit the money in the designated bank account in Zhuhai.
Sou said the scammer asked to borrow HK$145,600 from the victim last Monday and claimed that the money was to pay the balance. The victim promptly remitted the money. Afterwards, the scammer again asked for HK$125,000 claiming that it was the installation fee for the machine. The victim began to realise that she had been deceived and reported the case to the police on Saturday.
2nd case involving an ‘American orthopaedist’
Meanwhile, Sou said a woman in her thirties from the mainland reported to the police on Sunday that she had been defrauded out of 58,000 yuan in an online scam. She told the police that she met an “American orthopaedist” on Facebook during her trip to Macau on September 4. They later communicated through WeChat and the scammer told her that he had sent some cash and some documents in a parcel to his company in Dubai. However, according to the scammer, the parcel was being held up by customs in Dubai which required payment of customs duties. He asked the victim to lend him 58,000 yuan. The victim paid the scammer in four tranches to his WeChat account. Afterwards, the scammer continued to ask for more money and the victim suspected that she had been defrauded and reported the case to the police, according to Sou.
Sou urged the public not to easily believe netizens’ instructions to transfer money, in order to avoid falling victim to a scam. Residents are encouraged to call the PJ 24-hour hotline 993 or fraud prevention hotline 8800 7777 or online dating scam prevention hotline 6233 5136 for assistance.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Mark Sou Sio Keong poses at yesterday’s regular press conference. Photo: Camy Tam
