Three people defrauded of MOP4.4 million in ‘parcel delivery’ scam

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has reported that at least three people have reported falling victim to similar scams involving the apparent receipt of postal parcels.

The common phone scam that has already affected a large number of victims in Macau over recent years has returned to catch some new victims unaware.

The modus operandi is similar in all cases, with an alleged company or apparent authority contacting the victims via SMS or phone, claiming that there was a problem with a parcel addressed to the victim.

After that, the fraudsters try by several means to collect personal data such as the victims’ credit card information, or call them to pay large amounts of money to “release the parcel.”

Some cases involve the intervention of an alleged authority from the mainland, usually claiming that the parcel contained some illegal good and is now a criminal case.

In one of the three cases recently reported by the PJ, a female mainland student studying in a university in Macau was asked to pay some RMB800,000 to clear herself of an alleged crime related to a parcel.

Two other cases involving a 29-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman, both from Macau, also reportedly lost MOP610,000 and HKD3 million respectively in scams related to alleged customs problems with parcels arriving in Macau under their names.

The PJ already issued several warnings to the public, advising them not to trust information from unknown sources and not to pay any sums or provide personal data to potential fraudsters. The PJ further asks all people in Macau to report any suspicious cases of fraud to the authorities.