IN Macau Scam, you will get a call from someone posing as an employee of a legitimate body such as the bank or as law enforcement.
They coerce you to transfer money to a bank account in response to threats of arrest for your “involvement” in crime, drugs or tax evasion.
Some may also try to persuade you into thinking that your identity is being used to commit a crime.
These elements of intimidation can cause fear, especially in someone who has had no experience of receiving calls from so-called government officials.
Scammers will use this fear as an opportunity to offer help to the victims. Victims may take up the offer out of shock and fear; to the point of even being willing to release their banking information to the scammer.
In October 2019, Sabah police conducted one of their largest Macau Scam busts, detaining 80 Chinese people in raids at separate entertainment outlets in Penampang.
The syndicate is also suspected of being involved in stock and investment fraud.
Members of the gang were apprehended after a report was filed by an elderly man who made a total of RM1.4 million in transactions to 12 different accounts after receiving a call from a “police investigator” accusing him of money laundering.
Because he was afraid, the victim put a huge amount of money into all of the accounts before realising he had been duped.
E-Commerce or Online Purchase scam
E-commerce scams refer to fraud that occurs on an online purchasing platform. Often,…
