Amount of money lost by victims of romance scams jumps 140 per cent in first four months, Hong Kong police say
- Criminals conned people out of HK$196 million between January and April, according to authorities
- Police arrest 14 suspected members of money-laundering gang that moved cash from the scams out of the city
Authorities warned the public to remain cautious when seeking out new partners on the internet, noting more people were falling for the deceptions. The force said 517 people succumbed to the ploys between January and April, compared with 267 during the same four months in 2020 – an increase of 93 per cent.
Scammers typically posed as professionals such as engineers or entrepreneurs and looked for targets on internet platforms, according to Senior Inspector Tang Kwok-hin of the commercial crime bureau.
“After they developed close relationships with their targets, they then requested the victims to make money transfers under various pretexts,” Tang said.
The figures were revealed when police announced details of an operation against a money-laundering syndicate that resulted in the arrest of 14 people and the seizure of HK$1.5 million.
Superintendent Lau Kai-pang of the same bureau said the gang used 21 bank accounts to launder HK$12 million cheated from 30 victims of online romance scams over the past six months.
An investigation showed the syndicate also lured mainly domestic helpers to open bank accounts that were then used to collect and launder the swindled cash, Lau said.
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“The domestic workers were paid between hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars each as a monetary reward,” Tang said. In return, they had to hand over the bank cards and passwords to the syndicate, he added.
The victims were instructed to transfer money into the accounts and core members of the syndicate then withdrew the money. The cash was deposited into a business account belonging to a Tsim Sha Tsui company run by the alleged ringleader, according to the police.
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Tang said the cash was transferred to other accounts in Hong Kong, in mainland China and overseas in an effort to prevent local law enforcement from tracking the money.
After months of investigation, officers arrested five men and nine women in a series of raids on Wednesday and Thursday last week.
Officers took into custody the alleged ringleader, three suspected core members of the syndicate and eight domestic workers who held bank accounts used to launder the proceeds of the crimes.
Police also seized HK$1.5 million in cash at the office of the Tsim Sha Tsui company.
The suspects were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud or conspiracy to launder crime proceeds.
In Hong Kong, money laundering is punishable by up to 14 years in prison and a HK$5 million fine.
