Police arrest 56 from suspected fraud syndicate that scammed HK$7 million out of Hong Kong and Macau residents
- Police say 70 per cent of victims were under the age of 40 and attribute it to young people spending more time on social media
- Fraudsters spread so-called recruitment advertisements through instant messaging apps among others, according to the force
More than 130 residents in Hong Kong and Macau have been conned out of a total of HK$7 million (US$894,320) in an alleged online recruitment fraud exposed in a joint operation by police in both cities.
More than 70 per cent of the victims are aged below 40. Police said they believed that this could be because younger people had high social media consumption habits. A total of 56 people from the fraud syndicate were arrested in the operation, including some key members, Hong Kong police said on Wednesday.
“The fraudsters spread the so-called recruitment advertisements through instant messaging apps and social media, claiming to hire merchandisers or online administrative executives that require no [working] experience, offering high pay and commissions while working from home,” Chief Inspector Hui Nok said.
Hong Kong police on Wednesday announced they had arrested 46 people in the city for offences related to money laundering, conspiracy to defraud and obtaining property by deception. Another 10 were arrested in Macau.
Officers conducted operations across Hong Kong from November 9 to 15, seizing bank documents, ATM cards, mobile phones and computers related to the cases.
A total of 83 of the alleged offences, which were said to have happened between July 2021 and September 2022, were committed in Hong Kong. The victims lost more than HK$5 million between them.