Macau Scam. Be Aware and Beware.

Macau Scam. Be Aware and Beware.

A few minutes ago, I got a call telling me that I have just bought something with my credit card worth RM4,500. I am supposed to verify if I did purchased the item. It’s just one of those phishing calls. Some time back, my father received a call from a ‘police officer’ that my brother was involved in a crime. All of us are aware that we should just end the call and verify the situation. That’s the correct way versus continuing to provide information to the call / caller.

It’s super common these days

These days, these scam calls which are also Macau scam are becoming very common and it’s no longer someone trying to scam someone but it’s an organised operation. First caller who’s very persuasive will pass the call to the second caller who confirms what the first caller was saying and the conversation content also seems legit too! If they are actors / actresses, they are professionals! (for the wrong reason though).

This is how a Macau Scam usually looks like.

Someone calling you claiming they are from the court, the police or even some authorities. They will tell you that you are involved in some form of legal trouble / scam issues (yes they are saying you are trying to scam people!) There has also been cases where they will say that someone close to you has been kidnapped! There are also elaborate ones too. For example, this one concerning a durian seller. (read here) or this one involving love / romance. (read here)

By the way, the phone number may also look like local numbers because they are using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Once the victim is convinced, they will then usually be asked to transfer money to some accounts to settle the issue. Somehow we have victims who transfer the money because they wanted to settle the issue.

These are a small number of recent cases

The amount involved in all the cases are also substantial too. Some may be life savings. Now the person who was scammed may have to live in poverty for the remaining years.

Be Aware so that we can Beware

A long time ago, a friend told all of us that she will be going to the UK to further her study for a degree. She was promised to become a student tutor. In fact the she was also told that the particular programme will cover her tuition fees and she will even have some pocket money in return. As a UK graduate, I am not aware of such a programme. She was even “interviewed” in a 4-star hotel. In the end, more than 20 of these “students” ended up at the airport without any ticket to fly.

The administration fees she and all the others paid would have made the scammer very happy. These are very elaborate scams and it will continue to happen. Just be aware so that we can beware. Hopefully these cases will be fewer in the future with more people aware of such scams.

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