Hong Kong police to target university campuses with warnings of phone scams after student loses millions
Eleven people were conned out of HK$12.4 million over the four-day Easter holiday
Hong Kong police plan to step up awareness campaigns on university campuses of phone scams after a 23-year-old mainland student was conned out of 3 million yuan (HK$3.4 million).
The plan and the latest case come after 11 people were scammed out of HK$12.4 million over the four-day Easter holiday.
A police insider said most recent victims were newcomers to the city who shared one thing in common: “They told us they had never heard of phone scams or received related messages. Many of them did not read newspapers and were not active on social media.”
The source said police were considering taking their crime prevention message – holding talks and putting up posters – to university campuses as a result.
“At least we can reach the immigrants who are studying in Hong Kong but have no sense of local affairs,” the source said.
“By holding talks, we can alert them to the tactics of the phone scammers by citing old cases. Otherwise, newcomers will keep falling prey.”