A scammer masquerading as a class teacher cheated parents into buying textbooks in a WeChat group, with two mothers falling for the scam and paying 395 yuan (473 patacas) each, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Lam said during a regular press conference on Monday.

According to Ho, the fraudster had sneaked into a parent-teacher WeChat group, and set up an account using a profile picture of and name identical to the real class teacher and asked the parents to pay 395 yuan each for textbooks on August 3.

Ho said two mothers trusted the “class teacher” and transferred the money to the scammer, after which a teacher in the group said that there was no such request from the school. Ho noted that the scammer immediately left the group after he had been exposed.

Ho said that so far only two parents have reported the case, adding that the police are still investigating as to why the perpetrator was able to enter the WeChat group.