Two elderly residents in Macau have become victims of a phone scam known as “Guess Who I Am,” resulting in a combined loss of MOP186,000. The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a 37-year-old man from mainland China, suspected of collecting the funds. Authorities believe additional accomplices remain at large.
The first victim, an elderly woman, received a distressing call on Aug. 28, where a scammer impersonating her son-in-law claimed to need urgent financial assistance after an accident. Believing the caller, she transferred MOP120,000 to an individual posing as a lawyer. When the scammer demanded an additional MOP300,000, she realized she had been deceived and reported the incident to the police.
In a swift response, law enforcement intercepted the suspect while he attempted to withdraw more money. Further investigation revealed that he had also defrauded an elderly man of MOP66,000 on the same day. The police recovered MOP56,000 in suspected fraud proceeds from the arrested man, who admitted to passing around MOP130,000 to his accomplices.
In a separate incident, two Chinese men in their 30s are suspected of defrauding HKD150,000 from a victim by persuading him to exchange his casino winnings near an entertainment venue in Cotai, Monday. The victim, who had won HKD150,000, was convinced to convert his winnings into RMB142,000. However, the victim’s Chinese bank account was subsequently frozen by Chinese police, who claimed the deposit was fraudulent.
Police have arrested the perpetrators in both cases and seized a significant amount of evidence related to fraud and money laundering crimes.
These cases have now been handed over to the Public Prosecutions Office for further processing.
The Anti-Fraud Coordination Center of the PJ is urging Macau citizens, especially the elderly, to be cautious when receiving calls from people claiming to be relatives in need of money. They recommend verifying the claims directly with the relative in question and not responding to the perpetrator’s requests. Nadia Shaw
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