The Judiciary Police (PJ) issued a warning yesterday about 13 residents who fell victim in separate “customer service” scams, losing around 3.27 million patacas in total.
The Judiciary Police reminded the public to be wary of the scams.
Between March 9 and yesterday, the statement said, the Judiciary Police received multiple reports from citizens that they had received fraudulent phone calls or text messages from scammers impersonating customer service representatives of various major platforms, including Taobao, Alipay, WeChat, Douyin, and banks.
According to the statement, the scammers falsely claimed that the victims’ “fund or payment security” was about to expire and that they would be subject to automatic monthly deductions. They instructed the victims to follow their directions if they wished to cancel the service.
The statement noted that the PJ’s Anti-Fraud Enquiry Hotline and Anti-Fraud Programme have received information from nearly 50 citizens between March 9 and yesterday who were not deceived but reported receiving the same type of fraudulent calls and messages.
The statement pointed that Taobao’s and Alipay’s “Fund/Payment Security” are free services provided by the platforms and do not require renewal. If citizens receive a phone call from someone claiming to be a customer service representative for Taobao, Alipay, or other platforms, claiming that an insurance premium was due and asking for screen sharing operations or the disclosure of any personal banking information, it is a scam, the statement underlined, adding that citizens should hang up immediately.
If citizens have any doubts, they should use the PJ’s “Anti-Fraud Programme” to check the fraud risk index and call the Judiciary Police’s Anti-Fraud Hotline on 8800 7777, or the crime report hotline at 993 for assistance, the statement said.
This handout image provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday warns residents to be wary of “customer service” scams.
