AMCM issues warning over fake social media bank loan ads

The Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) has issued a warning to the public regarding a series of fake, sponsored advertisements that appear to have been issued by Macau banking institutions, which have been surfacing on several social media platforms.

According to the AMCM, several banks have been impersonated by the same type of fraudulent ad, which offers “emergency loans” for people in Macau, including foreigners.

The Times has reviewed several of these ads, both in Chinese and English. They offer different types of loans according to different age groups, promising free applications and “approvals within three minutes.”

The AMCM has warned the public to not trust this type of advertising and to not click on any links associated with the fraud, so as to avoid financial loss.

“We hereby advise the public not to rely on online loan advertisements and to seek financial services through the channels provided by local, authorized financial institutions. The list of authorized financial institutions, their websites, and contact details are available on our website (www.amcm.gov.mo),” the authority noted.

It also advised those who had provided personal information, bank card numbers or bank account information, including passwords, through the scam’s hyperlinks to immediately contact their financial institution(s) and call the Judiciary Police’s (PJ) fraud prevention hotline on 8800 7777, or the hotline for reporting fraud on 993.

According to PJ, the force has recently received reports of seven cases of phishing text messages pretending to be from telecommunications companies, which have led victims to lose MOP262,000.

After the victims followed links in the text messages and entered personal information, such as credit card data, scammers used the information to make international purchases.