Macau police arrest man under suspicion of telephone fraud

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has announced the takedown of a fraud and money laundering operation. The case involved two elderly female victims from Macau who were targeted in a telephone scam.

According to the police, on the evening of June 16, they received a report from a Macau woman who said she had been the victim of fraud. The woman explained that on June 14, she had received a call from someone claiming to be her grandson, who said he was being detained by police in mainland China and needed MOP10,000 in bail money. Fearing for her grandson’s safety, the woman withdrew the cash and handed it over to a man claiming to be a lawyer.

Half an hour later, the victim received another call demanding an additional MOP15,000. Again, she withdrew the cash and met the same man to hand it over. Two days later, the woman realized she had been scammed and reported the incident to the police.

Further investigation by the PJ identified the person who collected the money as a man named Cao, a 30-year-old unemployed Hong Kong resident. Evidence indicates Cao was part of a Hong Kong-based criminal group that had dispatched him to Macau to carry out the fraud scheme.

While investigating the case, the police received a report of a second victim who had also been targeted in a nearly identical scam. In that instance, the suspect Cao had demanded MOP30,000 from the victim before he was apprehended by officers.

In total, the two victims lost over MOP25,000 and MOP30,00 respectively to the suspect. The police recovered the 30,000 MOP from the second victim, but the larger sums taken from the first victim remain unrecovered.

The PJ have vowed to continue their investigation, tracing the flow of funds and pursuing other members of the criminal group. They are also urging the public, especially elderly residents, to be wary of such “relative in distress” scams and to verify any suspicious calls directly with their family members before providing any money.

Last week, the PJ has arrested three Hong Kong men in connection with a phone fraud case involving a criminal syndicate. The syndicate is believed to be involved in four cases targeting elderly female victims residing in Macau.

The police received reports from two victims who claimed to have received calls from someone posing as their grandson, asking for compensation for injuries. The victims handed over MOP60,000 and MOP10,000 respectively to a man claiming to be a lawyer.

The police also received a report from a third victim who received a fraudulent call from someone claiming to be a relative in need of MOP100,000 for business compensation, while the fourth victim was scammed of MOP200,000. Howard Tong