Hong Kong university student loses HK$220,000 in phone scam
Security minister John Lee Ka-chiu says number of such cases dropped 10 per cent in first 10 months of the year, though amount swindled increased
An 18-year-old university student from Taiwan has become one of Hong Kong’s latest phone scam victims, police revealed on Monday, after she was conned out of HK$220,000 (US$28,200).
The matter came to light as Hong Kong’s security minister said phone scammers had been responsible for HK$200 million in losses in the first 10 months of this year.
In this case, the scammers posed as workers from China Mobile. They contacted the Chinese University student, telling her that her phone number had been linked to a criminal case.
“The line was then transferred to a man claiming to be a law enforcement officer from the mainland. He requested that the student transfer money to a mainland bank account for investigation purposes,” a police spokesman said on Monday.
Hong Kong student arrested in connection with HK$11.7 million phone scam
The student, who lives in a campus hall of residence, realised she had been cheated after transferring the money and called police shortly before 9pm on Monday.
The force has repeatedly warned members of the public, especially newcomers to the city, about phone scams in recent years.