Macao recorded 810 phone and online scams last year, a drop of about 35 percent year-on-year, the Judiciary Police announced in a statement yesterday.
Despite the number of cases decreasing, phone and online scam losses grew by roughly 32 percent over 2024, reaching a total of 300 million patacas (US$37.42 million).
The Judiciary Police said the decline of telecommunication scams in Macao reflected the heightened public awareness of anti-fraud measures.
At the same time, the agency acknowledged that residents who let their guard down by even the slightest could suffer immense losses, as scam techniques were consistently evolving, with indirect scams becoming more technologically sophisticated and deceptive.
In order to tackle such scams, the Judiciary Police established an anti-fraud mechanism in 2017 that aims to prevent and crack down on these crimes by deepening cooperation between the public and private sectors in areas such as public security, telecommunication, finance and education.
The Judiciary Police noted that under this mechanism, many effective measures had been implemented.
During an anti-fraud meeting on 15 January, the heads of Macao’s various government departments shared some of the measures that had been taken to clamp down on telefraud.
[See more: Macao’s overall crime rate fell 7.1 percent in the first three quarters of 2025]
Derby Lau, the director of the Macao Post and Telecommunication Bureau, noted that her department had implemented anti-fraud measures such as issuing ID alerts for overseas calls, working with the police to block scam calls and websites, as well as intercepting suspicious text messages.
In addition, her department conducted monitoring to ensure that telecommunication providers were applying real-name registration of prepaid SIM cards. The rules were further tightened under new regulations introduced last November.
Meanwhile, Lau Hang Kun, a member of the Macau Monetary Authority’s administrative committee, said that her department had taken steps such as distributing guidelines to the finance industry to further optimise their measures against suspicious transactions. Alerts were also issued to customers at risk of becoming victims of fraud.
Other measures included the introduction of an authorisation function in online mobile banking apps and the prohibition of hyperlinks and QR codes in text messages and emails sent by banks.
As well, the department has planned an upgrade for Macao’s inter-bank Easy Transfer service this year, which will add a function that screens for suspicious accounts.
Telecommunication scams have become a major problem in Macao in recent times, with criminals exploiting new technology such as AI. Some of the most recent cases involve fraudsters sending messages or making calls in the guise of legitimate companies and government departments.
