Two young local men and a young woman from the mainland have separately fallen victim to “fake police” scams, losing HK$177,000 (181,000 patacas), HK$23,000, and 20,000 yuan (22,000 patacas), respectively, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kam Fong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
In the first case, a local man received a call on Friday morning from someone speaking Putonghua, claiming to be a “police officer.” The caller explicitly mentioned the man’s Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents card number and accused him of sending out numerous scam messages from his mainland-registered phone number. Following the caller’s instructions, he participated in a video call, enabled screen sharing, and entered a website link where he provided his personal identity and bank account information. He was also asked to sign an electronic “confidentiality agreement” and told not to disclose any details to others. By 4 p.m. that same day, feeling suspicious about the call, he contacted his bank and discovered that HK$177,000 had been transferred from his account. Realising he had been scammed, he immediately reported the case to the police.
In the second case, another young local man received a “fake police scam” call on May 18. He participated in a video call with a “police officer” and enabled screen sharing, during which he disclosed his bank account information. After discovering that HK$23,000 had been transferred from his account, he reported the case to the police on Friday.
In the third case, a mainland woman travelling in Macau received a “fake police scam” call on Friday from someone speaking Putonghua who claimed to be a “police officer.” The caller accused her of “money laundering” and requested a video call with screen sharing, demanding her mainland bank account information for a “funding review.” Shortly thereafter, 20,000 yuan was transferred from her account. After discovering that she had been scammed, she reported the case to the police immediately.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kam Fong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
