The Judiciary Police (PJ) urged residents on Tuesday to be wary of possibly fraudulent text messages offering them an investment opportunity.
According to a PJ statement, a message recently received by some residents claimed to have insider information on stocks with an accuracy rate of 99 per cent and a guaranteed return on investment of 20 per cent. The unknown sender of the message said that he or she was looking for investors to join him or her in long-term investments. The message also provided contact details and a link.
A PJ investigation concluded that the SMS is a suspected investment scam.
Although the police have not yet received any residents’ complaints of having been defrauded by the purported investment offer, the Judiciary Police decided to issue an early warning about the case to remind the public to be wary of such scams.
The Judiciary Police urged residents not to trust similar messages that they might receive from purported wealth management companies. The police also urged the public not to easily hand over money to others for purported wealth management products, pointing out that investors should clearly understand the investment proposal and seek advice from professionals before going ahead with an investment.
The police also said that if strangers provide a link as part of their message, one should not click on them in order to prevent one’s smartphone from being infected with a virus. The police also encouraged residents to forward anti-fraud messages to remind their relatives and friends to be wary of online fraud. If residents suspect that they have been defrauded, they should immediately call the PJ fraud prevention hotline 8800 7777 or the police report hotline 993 for assistance, the statement said.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
