Poon says spam phone calls ‘very low tech’

Vandy Poon

Macau is no exception with respect to phone scams, the chief executive officer of Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau (CTM) said at a press conference yesterday. Vandy Poon was replying to reporters’ questions about what the Judiciary Police (PJ) deemed “a new wave of phone scams” targeting Macau phone users earlier this week.

“The telecom fraud has been notorious around the world. Macau is not unique. Every time Macau has a hit, the neighboring regions also have. That is why we have a cooperation mechanism with authorities,” the CEO said. Noting that in the past the PJ has been able to crack down some of the cases, he said that, if necessary, CTM can “stop some of the calls,” but it is very difficult to end the attacks permanently.

“To my understanding, those calls were not based on data or any database. They were made in a random fashion and are very low tech,” Poon said. According to the CEO, it is the police and authorities who have the competence to make public warnings on such matters.

Poon acknowledged that there is a new flow of suspicious calls from numbers based in countries such as Papua New Guinea, Tonga, South Sudan and Somalia. Revealing that CTM has been working since last weekend with authorities, he gave some advice to the public: “The awareness of such danger [phone scams] is very well known to the community. Citizens should pay attention when receiving suspicious calls. There is no harm in receiving the calls. But don’t engage with them [the callers]. Basically, don’t send any money.”  

The CEO’s allegations that the current wave of attacks is low-tech matches with a statement sent this week to the Times by the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT), which regulates the sector. CTT said there was a “very low possibility that the customer databases of Macau’s telecom operators have been breached by hackers” and that “the scammers target Macau’s citizens on a massive scale with randomly generated numbers confirming to Macau’s numbering plan.”

CTM PROFIT SHRINKS

Prior to the press conference, the telecommunications operator organized a lunch with local journalists. During his speech at the lunch, Vandy Poon reviewed CTM’s performance in 2017. Last year, the company recorded revenue of MOP3,585 million. The profit for the year was MOP881 million, which was a 19 percent decrease compared to 2016.

CTM, a company majorly owned by CITIC Telecom International Holdings, attributed the profit decline to “the pressure of multiple tariff reduction.”

The company invested MOP385 million over the last year in projects such as enhancements to the quality of the full fiber-optic network and 4G+ mobile network, as well as expanding the Wi-Fi hotspot coverage. Currently, CTM has around 44 percent share of the mobile phone market in Macau and is the main Internet service provider.

The company’s CEO was asked to comment on the motives behind the 19 percent reduction in profit. “A tariff reduction creates a negative impact to our profit, of course. But at the same time, it popularizes our services. So it has negative and positive impacts,” he said. Claiming that the current CTM tariffs are “very reasonable and competitive,” Poon added that the company needs to strike a balance between that and the need to introduce new services, which require investments.

“We hope we will rebound a little bit this year with regards to profit,” the CEO stated, predicting “a slight increase” in the 2018 results.

Support to cyber security

CTM HAS expressed a favorable opinion regarding the cyber security bill during the recent public consultation period and requested access to the final draft. Vandy Poon claimed that the new requirements, introduced to both users and suppliers of network, will enhance safety. “Without a proper law, each user will face risks,” he said.