Nine Locals, including a minor, lured to Taiwan for phone fraud

The Judiciary Police (PJ) have dismantled a gang that lured nine Macau residents, including a minor, to Taiwan for telecommunications fraud, resulting in their arrest and sentencing by Taiwanese authorities.

The nine Macau residents – three middle-aged adults, five young adults, and one minor –received prison sentences of three to eight months in Taiwan. Four have completed their sentences and returned to Macau, while five remain incarcerated for acting as “money runners,” collecting fraudulent proceeds from the gang’s victims.

According to the PJ, authorities received multiple reports from family members since September last year, leading to investigations that confirmed the victims were enticed to Taiwan with promises of “high salaries” to participate in telecommunications fraud, receiving only a few thousand to tens of thousands of RMB for collecting the scam proceeds.

The PJ, citing individuals who completed their sentences in Taiwan and returned to Macau, revealed that the gang first recruited two key individuals, who were promised a 3% commission on fraud proceeds.

These two subsequently organized four additional recruits, enticing them online with high-paying offers to assist in collecting fraud proceeds in Taiwan.

“After a successful scam, the nine participants were instructed to meet their victims and collect the proceeds, which they were then directed to transport to locations designated by the syndicate’s leaders for handover to the mastermind,” a PJ spokesman said.

Some admitted that despite knowing the activities were illegal, they still took the risk, committing crimes for small financial gain.

Regarding the arrest of the six gang members, the PJ noted that they were apprehended in various districts of Macau on Monday, including a 17-year-old minor.