CRIME | Woman tricks friends with ‘special rate’ exchange scam

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has handed a 29 year old local woman to the Public Prosecution Office after she was suspected of having defrauded her friends and colleagues out of MOP5.9 million. The police alleged that in 2012, the suspect told five of the victims that she was in a close relationship with a senior staff member at a local bank, and claimed to be able to exchange overseas currencies such as Renminbi, the Australian dollar, and Japanese Yen, for a “special rate.”
The five victims handed her a total of MOP4.9 million. The suspect later told four others that her mother had an emergency medical condition and was in urgent need of cash. The four victims then lent MOP1 million to the suspect. The suspect is believed to have initially used the new debt to cover outstanding creditors. However, after she spent the money on shopping, she eventually failed to repay the money.
All the victims reported the crime to the authorities this month. PJ detained the woman on November 25. They searched her house and found handbags worth around MOP100,000 in total.