Woman allegedly defrauds over MOP1.1 million while claiming fee of MOP2,200

An Indonesian woman is under investigation for allegedly defrauding six victims of more than MOP1.1 million by posing as a Taobao customer service representative.

The 35-year-old suspect, a domestic helper, was arrested in a residential flat in the northern district on Wednesday following police investigations into reports from three locals who respectively lost MOP500,000, MOP86,000, and MOP273,000 to a scam involving impersonation of a Taobao customer service representative in November last year.

The Judiciary Police (PJ) held a special press conference yesterday to provide details about the arrest, revealing that the victims received automated text messages from “Taobao” regarding the cancellation of “insurance plans.”

According to the police, the victims fell into the scam after calling a designated phone number, where they spoke with individuals claiming to be customer service representatives. Following the instructions given, the victims enabled the screen-sharing feature on their communication apps and transferred funds to a specific bank account, which was later identified as belonging to the suspect.

Police confirmed that six local residents fell victim to the same scam, being instructed to deposit funds into the involved bank account. While the suspect claimed to charge only MOP2,200 as a fee for opening the bank account for her fellow countrymen, the total losses reported were significantly higher.

Police stated that, given the evidence indicating the suspect committed substantial fraud and money laundering, she was referred to the prosecutor’s office yesterday for further investigation. The inquiry remains ongoing, and authorities are currently pursuing other individuals involved in the scam.

Illegal currency exchange operations

The PJ also announced the arrest of three mainland Chinese individuals for their involvement in an illegal currency exchange operation in Macau yesterday, which they reportedly initiated late last year.

Police said that the arrests were made during routine inspections at several major hotel casinos on Wednesday, where the suspects were intercepted while allegedly conducting illegal currency exchanges. At the time of their arrest, the three individuals were reportedly exchanging RMB9,150 for HKD10,000 in casino chips, RMB4,600 for HKD5,000 in chips, and RMB4,525 for HKD5,000 in chips through QR code transfers to gamblers.

According to police, all three suspects claimed to be unemployed and admitted to engaging in illegal currency exchange since late last year. Each suspect disclosed their profit margins, stating they earned approximately HKD200 per transaction, totaling around RMB5,000 in profits, and making roughly HKD100 for every HKD10,000 exchanged.

Police reportedly recovered various items during the arrests, including a mobile phone, HKD10,000 in cash, and HKD56,000 in chips from one suspect; HKD60,000 in cash and a mobile phone from another; and two mobile phones along with HKD6,500 in cash and chips from a third suspect. All suspects, both male and female, were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday.