Dear students,

With final examinations approaching and preparations for the new school year underway, the Judiciary Police (PJ) has continued to monitor crime trends and notes that phone scams targeting students are still occurring occasionally. As young people frequently use the Internet and generally have limited social experience, they become easy targets for scammers.

Fraudsters often impersonate officers of the public security, public prosecution office, or courts (commonly referred to as the “public security, prosecutions, or courts”) to commit fraud. Students are urged to remain vigilant and beware of the following common tactics used
by scammers:
 Create panic: Scammers contact victims by phone or SMS, using personal information obtained through illicit channels (such as name or ID number) to falsely claim that the victim is “involved in a criminal case” or that their “identity has been misused,” demanding that they “cooperate with an investigation.” They speak in a forceful tone to deliberately create a sense of urgency.
 Defraud personal information: They gradually induce victims to disclose bank account numbers, passwords, and SMS verification codes.
 Demand transfers: Under the pretext of “paying a security deposit,” “funds verification,” or “transferring money to a safe account,” they instruct victims to remit funds.
 Impose secrecy: They threaten victims with “case confidentiality,” strictly forbidding them from informing parents or teachers.

Victims of such scams not only suffer financial loss but also have to endure psychological stress, seriously affecting students’ studies and daily life. The Bureau solemnly reminds the public that officers of the public security, public prosecution office, or courts will never request bank transfers, remittances, passwords, or verification codes over the phone, and law‑enforcement agencies do not operate any so‑called “safe accounts.”

To help students identify and avoid scams, please remember the following five anti‑fraud tips:

1. Stay calm and refuse to disclose information: When receiving calls from individuals purported to be from the “public security, public prosecution office, or courts,” do not believe allegations such as “suspected of violating the law.” Refuse to divulge personal information, bank account details, passwords, or verification codes.

2. Verify proactively and seek assistance: If you doubt the caller’s identity, hang up immediately and verify through official channels, or seek help from teachers or parents.

3. Beware of unusual requests: Any call that includes instructions such as video‑based investigations, screen sharing, bail procedures, payment of security deposits, or transferring funds to a “safe account” is likely to be a scam. Hang up immediately and do not follow any operational instructions. 

4. Seek help promptly to reduce losses: If you suspect you may have been a victim to a scam, stop all actions immediately. Use the Judiciary Police’s Anti‑Fraud App to check the scam‑risk index of relevant content, or call our Anti‑Fraud Enquiry Hotline at 8800 7777 or the Crime Report Hotline at 993, or contact resident fellows or Student Affairs Office of University of Macau (Tel: 8822 4901 Email: sao@um.edu.mo) for assistance.

If you would like to learn more, please visit our website at www.pj.gov.mo.

The Youth Concern Section
Community Policing and Public Relations
Division of the Judiciary Police