A total of 46 residents have fallen victim to a phone scam involving fraudsters posing as customer service representatives from WeChat and Alipay, with reported losses exceeding MOP2.61 million.
The Judiciary Police (PJ) have dismantled a criminal hub in Hoi Nam Garden near the Border Gate and arrested a mainland Chinese couple, both non-resident workers, on suspicion of assisting a cross-border syndicate.
The suspects, aged 43 and 48, allegedly rented a unit and installed GOIP (virtual dialing) equipment, allowing overseas accomplices to make scam calls using local Macau numbers to boost credibility.
Following multiple victim reports since early April, PJ raided the apartment on April 29 and seized eight GOIP devices, two of which were actively making calls at the time. The couple was later arrested in the central and northern districts. One confessed they were promised HKD5,000 for their role.
Police believe the operation began earlier this month, and that all 46 scam calls originated from the seized equipment. Investigations are ongoing to trace other suspects involved in the syndicate. LV
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