Duo apprehended for alleged phone scams

Police have arrested two men and delivered them to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for alleged impostor phone scams, the MP said in a statement yesterday.

The two men are from Hong Kong, the MP added.

In impostor phone scams, scammers conceal their identities but lure call recipients to connect them to somebody they know.

The MP said that in the first case a Hong Kong man allegedly started swindling four senior local residents in October. The man allegedly worked with a syndicate, the MP noted.

According to the MP, the suspects pretended to be a relative of the senior residents and requested emergency money from the four residents. They asked the elderly victims to prepare cash, which was collected by the Hong Kong man who pretended to be a lawyer.

The case involved MOP360,000.

The second man allegedly defrauded two local residents of MOP370,000.

The two men are now in custody because of the severity of the case, the risk of their fleeing and the disruption to judicial procedures, following recommendations from the prosecutor and an order from a court, the MP added.

Each man has been charged with the crime of serious deception. The second man has been hit with an additional charge of grievous deception.

The MP said serious deception incurs five years imprisonment or a maximum of 600 days of fine. The crime of grievous deception incurs ten years of imprisonment.

The MP said residents must be vigilant against scams. Phone calls requesting payment or money should be handled with exceptional caution. Victims should report cases to the police or the MP.