A young local woman has fallen victim to a phishing message scam, resulting in a total loss of 280,000 patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Wai Lok said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Ho, the Judiciary Police (PJ) received a report on Friday from the woman, who said that she had received a message from a purported local bank on Thursday. The fraudulent message informed her that the “online payment protection plan” for her e-wallet was about to expire. If she wished to continue using it after the expiration, she would need to pay 988 patacas for an extension. Wanting to cancel it, the victim was then instructed to contact the “customer service” in Hong Kong.
Through the phone number provided in the message, the victim contacted three individuals who claimed to be “bank staff”. During their communication, the scammers persuaded the victim to provide her bank account and credit card information, and instructed her to enable screen sharing.
Later that same day, the victim discovered multiple transactions in her bank and credit card accounts. Meanwhile, she lost contact with the “bank staff”. Suspecting she had been scammed, the victim reported a total loss of 280,000 patacas to the police on Friday.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Wai Lok looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
