Dedicated Hong Kong police unit set up to handle phone scams
Police also reveal new tactic whereby conman dupes employee into thinking he is firm’s chief executive and instructs him to make a big money transfer out of the city
A new police unit has begun work in the wake of deceptions that have cost the public over HK$580 million so far this year.
The anti-fraud coordination unit, which started work on Thursday, was set up in response to the 760 reports of phone and email scams in the first six months.
As police recover less than 10 per cent of monetary losses in such scams, police said the unit would enhance cooperation with banks and law enforcement agencies both at home and abroad.
It would attempt to retrieve money and stop it being moved around the world.
With the overall city crime rate on a downward trend, the total number of deception cases rose by 6 per cent to 3,561 in the first six months, compared with 3,368 in the same period last year.