The Macau Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday launched their “Anti-Fraud Coordination Centre 3.0”* during a ceremony at their headquarters in Zape yesterday morning.
Concurrently, they also launched their “Anti-Fraud Promotion Week,” hoping to achieve significant progress in anti-scam efforts.
Judiciary Police (PJ) Deputy Director Sou Sio Keong said in a speech at the ceremony that in order to further coordinate and enhance anti-fraud efforts and consolidate their achievements, with the strong support of the Macau Public Security Forces, the Judiciary Police had started plans last year to upgrade the centre. The centre was completed and entered its trial phase early this year, which proceeded smoothly. Officially, the upgraded centre commenced operations yesterday.
Sou also said that in recent years sustained efforts to combat fraud have shown signs of slowing down the growth trend of telecom and online scams. In 2024, the Judiciary Police investigated 1,260 cases of telecom and online fraud, involving around 232 million patacas in losses, marking year-on-year decreases of 1.4 percent and 25.3 percent respectively. Similarly, the first quarter of this year recorded year-on-year declines of 12.1 percent and 28.4 percent, respectively. The continuous rise in public awareness of fraud prevention reflects the effectiveness of anti-fraud measures, Sou said.
Sou further noted that while the overall growth of fraud cases has been curbed, the highest level of vigilance must still be maintained.
Currently, he warned, scams such as credit card skimming, fraudulent online ticket purchases, bulk order fraud, and investment scams remain prevalent. Criminals are constantly refining their tactics, and earlier this year, Sou pointed out, Macau saw its first “AI-driven scam case”, demonstrating that fraud schemes are becoming more sophisticated, technologically advanced, and deceptive. For instance, Sou underlined, a recent scam involving fake Alipay customer service calls led to multiple citizens falling victim in a short period.
During the ceremony, the Judiciary Police showcased various initiatives to the media and guests on the 14th floor of their headquarters, including an “AI Deepface” interactive experience zone, an “anti-fraud app tutorial area”, a “multimedia studio”, a “dedicated hotline support office”, a “historical timeline video of the Anti-Fraud Coordination Centre”, and a “large-screen data visualisation display”.
*3.0 denotes a next-Generation concept, used to signify a major upgrade or evolution in any field. – DeepSeek
This photo shows the Anti-Fraud Coordination Centre 3.0 on the 14th floor of the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters in Zape during yesterday’s press conference about the launch of the upgraded centre. – Photo: Armindo Neves
