A man suspected of scamming a Macau resident out of MOP300,000 (US$37,305) via a cyber-dating scam has been placed under pre-trial arrest.
According to police authorities, the case was first discovered in December, 2021, with a Filipino national non-resident worker suspected of after meeting the victim online claimed to be an Italian oil exploration engineer and began an online dating relationship with the victim.
“Having won the confidence of the victim, the defendant falsely claimed that he would need to replace the parts of the equipment for oil exploration, for which he requested a loan of 300 thousand Hong Kong dollars for this purpose, and that after the completion of the work he would go to her in Macau and would return the borrowed money,” police authorities revealed.
“The victim believed what she was told and deposited the money in the bank account indicated by the accused, who later disappeared and was unable to be contacted, so the victim suspected that she had been scammed and reported the case to the police”.
It was also found that the defendant asked his former employer to provide him with his bank account to receive the victim’s money.
The case has been referred to the Public Prosecutions Office, and after strong evidence suggesting a crime of fraud of a considerably high-value amount, the suspect was placed under preventive custody.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office will continue its investigation, with the crime possibly resulting in a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
“In recent years, there have been several cases of cyber-dating scams, in which criminals use various pretexts to swindle the victim’s money. In view of this situation, the MP appeals to citizens to exercise caution, avoiding being scammed when carrying out any transfer or transaction, among other banking activities,” the prosecution office warned.
