Lattes to take on scammers? Hong Kong police chief suggests anti-fraud slogans on coffee cups, restaurant napkins to raise awareness after surge in cases

‘We will show it to you even if you don’t ask for it,’ says Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu as he explores ways to inject scam awareness into people’s lives

Commissioner reveals investment fraud accounted for nearly two-thirds of losses from scams last year, with CEOs among the victims

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Seventy per cent of fraud cases last year involved online scams, according to Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:39pm, 10 Feb 2024Updated: 9:58pm, 10 Feb 2024

Hong Kong’s police chief has suggested plans to boost awareness of fraud by the use of educational messages in people’s daily lives, and proposed ideas such as putting anti-scam slogans on coffee cups or napkins at restaurants after a surge in cases over the past year.

Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-Yee on Saturday also warned the public to be alert to investment schemes promising high returns and low risks as they were often scams that were difficult to stop as fraudsters had already sent the money overseas by the time the victim realised they had been duped.

The city recorded 39,824 cases of fraud last year, resulting in about HK$9.18 billion (US$1.17 billion) in losses. Siu said 70 per cent of the cases involved online scams.

The number of cases accounted for 44 per cent of all crimes and marked a 43 per cent jump compared with 2022.

Raymond Siu attends a media literacy seminar on scam prevention. The police commissioner has warned residents to be wary of investment schemes promising high returns and low risks. Photo: Edmond So

“In terms of pure numbers, most of the cases were related to online shopping, because shopping on the internet is so common nowadays,” he told a radio programme on the first day of the Lunar New Year.