Five Macau residents fell victim to a bogus MPay phishing SMS scam between September 4-7, losing a total of roughly 28,400 patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Siu Keong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Cheong, scammers had recently resumed sending unsolicited phishing text messages to residents while impersonating the mobile payment platform MPay. The messages claimed that the recipients’ MPay accounts had been exposed to an “online security risk” and that a protective mechanism had been activated.
Cheong added that the victims were instructed to click an embedded link in the text message to access a purported “official website” to complete identity verification, under threat of having their payment accounts suspended.
Upon clicking the fraudulent link, the victims were prompted to enter sensitive information, including their MPay account numbers, login passwords, and payment passcodes. The scammers then allegedly seized control of their accounts and made unauthorised purchases and transfers.
The five victims comprised a young woman, three middle-aged women, and an elderly man. Their individual losses ranged from just over 100 patacas to more than 11,000 patacas. The scammers primarily used the stolen account details to make unauthorised purchases at shops both locally and in Malaysia, Cheong said.
The Judiciary Police Anti-Fraud Coordination Centre stressed that Macau Pass would never ask residents to provide passwords, transaction verification codes, or account details via text message or unverified links.
Members of the public were urged not to click on suspicious links and to verify the authenticity of websites before submitting personal or payment information.
Suspected fraud should immediately be reported to the Judiciary Police’s Anti-Fraud Enquiry hotline on 8800 7777 or the crime reporting hotline on 993 for assistance.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Siu Keong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Sherwin Hng
