Fraudulent BOC text scheme scams over MOP74,000

Six Macau residents lost over MOP74,000 to credit card theft stemming from fake “Bank of China” phishing websites between Jan. 24 to 27, Judiciary Police (PJ) reported yesterday.

According to police, three men and three women received text messages claiming their points were expiring, tricking them to enter credit card information into fraudulent Bank of China websites. During the process, victims were enticed to enter credit card details and exchange points for cheap gifts, allowing scammers to steal the cards and make unauthorized large purchases.

One of the larger cases involved a young woman who had 6.93 million in Tanzanian currency stolen, equivalent to about MOP22,000.

PJ has identified this as the first instance where fraudsters have posed as the “Bank of China” and sent random fake messages to citizens, a concerning trend that has also seen the emergence of similar phishing scams from other large companies.

To prevent further incidents, with fake SMS messages impersonating large companies on the rise, PJ Fraud Prevention Coordination Center warns citizens not to click unknown links, carefully verify website authenticity when providing personal details, and use the “Anti-Scam” app or hotlines if uncertain. Citizens are advised to be vigilant of phishing attempts via text.

In a different case, the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) announced that three Hong Kong men have been detained in connection with a phone scam that defrauded an elderly Macau citizen of approximately MOP150,000.

According to authorities, the scheme involved dividing the criminal labor.

One suspect first called the victim, posing as the victim’s son-in-law. The imposter claimed to have been arrested for drunk driving and in need of bail money.

The victim withdrew the funds from the bank and handed them over to a second suspect, who had posed as a legal assistant. Becoming suspicious, the victim then verified the story with his actual son-in-law, thereby exposing the scam.

The MP urges the public to always verify the authenticity of calls or messages, and never provide money or make fund transfers to strangers.

Last week, the PJ reported that the three men were directed by a telecom fraud group, operating under the guise of a “guess who I am” scheme, to travel to Macau. Their task was to collect MOP150,000 from an elderly local woman, with the promise of receiving a commission ranging from MOP3,000 to MOP5,000 each. VC