Police arrest two MPay fraud suspects

Police have arrested two men for abusing MPay accounts allegedly stolen by a criminal syndicate, the Judiciary Police (PJ) has disclosed.

The two suspects, surnamed Huang, 23, and Chen, 26, are from the mainland.

The police said that from Nov. 17 to 20, they received crime reports from 10 local residents about fraudulent MPay communications.

The residents had all received text messages that appeared to be from MPay, which notified them of the imminent expiration of their membership points and directed them act immediately.

After clicking the included hyperlink, they discovered their MPay accounts had been robbed, and that they had lost between MOP1,100 and MOP15,500. Total lost funds amounted to over MOP68,900.

Investigations led to the criminal syndicate, which constructed and operated a phishing website pretending to be MPay, and which also sent mass text messages to local phone numbers.

After successfully robbing the MPay accounts, the syndicate would assign people to mass purchase alcoholic drinks and cosmetic products from online platforms. These purchases would then be delivered to a collection point in the Northern District, before being sent to mainland China.

As investigations progressed, the police intercepted Huang and Li on the afternoon of Nov. 20. The two were on their way to the collection point to receive the deliveries.

They confessed to entering Macau on Nov. 17 and 18 respectively to make purchases and collect deliveries. They also told the police they received RMB1,000 per day as remuneration.

However, they both denied having any role in the construction and the operation of the phishing website.

At the duo’s hotel, more merchandise was seized. The police believe the website began operation Nov. 14.

In another case, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) arrested three mainland men for theft at a local pharmacy and sex work separately.

The three suspects are surnamed Chen, 38, Ye, 31 and Li, 35.

It was reported that on Nov. 19, the police received a theft report from a local pharmacy, from which seven items had been stolen. The loss amounted to MOP2,100.

Following preliminary investigations, the police arrested Chen and Ye at a local inn. Li was also at the scene.

The police found a significant number of condoms and lubricants in the inn room. Interrogations revealed that Chen and Li had come to Macau to provide sex work. Ye denied the allegation of sex work.

Chen and Ye will face theft charges, while Chen and Li will be charged with practicing extra-tourism activities.