Retired Hong Kong brokerage manager loses HK$18 million to scammer posing as security official

Source familiar with situation says scammer contacted 67-year-old woman in January and claimed to be mainland Chinese police officer investigating fraud case

Money sent to five bank accounts in more than 20 transactions over three months, with woman only calling police after ‘security official’ stopped replying, source adds

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Police are treating the case as “obtaining property by deception” – an offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:32pm, 9 May 2024Updated: 6:42pm, 9 May 2024

A retired Hong Kong brokerage firm manager has become the latest victim of phone scammers after a swindler impersonating a mainland Chinese police officer cheated her out of HK$18 million (US$2.3 million) in just three months.

A source familiar with the case on Thursday said the 67-year-old woman had fallen prey to the scam after receiving a phone call on January 22 from a man posing as an official from a public security bureau across the border.

The insider said the “police officer” accused the retiree of being involved in a fraud case, ordering her to “cooperate and keep the investigation confidential”.

The woman, who lives in a luxury flat in the Mid-Levels, was then instructed to transfer money into several designated bank accounts for investigative purposes.

“Over the past three months, she was ordered to transfer HK$18 million into five designated bank accounts over more than 20 transactions,” the source said.

He said the woman discovered the purported investigation was a scam when she demanded the money back and the “police officer” became unreachable. She called Hong Kong police for help on Tuesday.

The source said the money had been transferred out of the five bank accounts involved, and officers were trying to trace the final destination of the cash.