Merchants fall victim to fraud scheme

Two merchants reported a total loss of MOP125,000 after falling prey to an electronic fraud scheme. The victims, an event planning company and a construction firm, received phone calls from individuals posing as “school teachers” on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. The scammers claimed to be ordering bed frames for schools and nursing homes, sending fake transfer screenshots to convince the proprietors. Following the instructions, the event company transferred HKD45,000 while the construction firm sent HKD80,000. After payment, both businesses lost contact with the fraudsters and reported the incident to police.