The Judiciary Police (PJ) have prevented a potential telephone scam loss exceeding 1.5 million patacas involving a non-local university student after an anti-fraud quiz helped the student recognise similarities between the questions and their own experience, the police said in a statement yesterday.
The statement did not reveal the student’s gender, place of habitual residence and the local university where he or she is enrolled.
The Judiciary Police’s Anti-Fraud Coordination Centre has conducted anti-scam talks for newly arrived non-local students at the Public Security Police Force’s (PSP) Immigration Building since August 10, with the campaign running for three consecutive months, the statement noted.
The initiative, now in its fourth year, aims to raise students’ awareness of telecom and online scams, particularly telephone scams in which fraudsters impersonate Chinese mainland public security, procuratorial and judicial authorities, the statement underlined.
By September 30, the centre had conducted about 180 talks, reaching more than 9,000 students who had newly arrived in Macau to attend higher education institutions, the statement said, adding that during the sessions, students were also asked to complete anti-scam quizzes designed to assess their potential exposure to fraud. In mid-September, a student recognised that a scenario in the quiz resembled his or her own experience and sought help from the officers present, according to the statement.
The investigation found that the student had received calls from scammers impersonating law enforcement authorities since August 30 and had been manipulated by them, the statement said, noting that the student had also asked his or her parents for money under the pretext of studying abroad, following the scammers’ instructions.
The timely intervention prevented potential losses exceeding 1.5 million patacas, according to the statement.
The statement also said that the number of student-related telephone scam cases involving impersonation of Chinese mainland law enforcement authorities fell by more than 30 percent in the first three quarters of this year compared with the same period last year.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows its Anti-Fraud Coordination Centre conducting an anti-scam talk for newly arrived non-local students at the Public Security Police Force’s (PSP) Immigration Building in Pac On.
