Impersonation Phone Scams Cause Loss to Victims in Hong Kong

In the first quarter of 2024, the Hong Kong Police recorded 474 phone scam, a 30% decrease compared to last quarter.

Although the number of phone scams decreased in the quarter, the scams impersonating officials doubled to 74, with more students from the mainland victimized.

The losses caused by the scam were relatively serious. One of the case caused a loss of HK$764 million to victims, most of whom were mainland students.

In recent years, the Hong Kong Police has introduced various applications to combat phone scams, however, new criminal technologies continue to emerge and the scam remains rampant.

An 18-year-old student from the mainland and study in Hong Kong received a phone call in which the caller claimed to be a staff member of the Hong Kong Immigration Department and the mainland police, accusing her of distributing undesirable advertisements and being involved in a money laundering case. The scammer then induced the victim to download malware and attempted to transfer deposits from her bank account. The act caught the bank's attention and the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) quickly intercepted the transaction.