https://www.scmp.com/rss/325107/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ng Kang-chung Ng Kang-chung Hong Kong taxpayers may have to shoulder nearly HK$28 billion (US$3.57 billion) in bad loans from a now-defunct, fully government-backed financing scheme designed to help smaller enterprises survive the Covid pandemic. Official data released to legislators showed that of the 67,189 loan applications approved under the special scheme, 13,231 had defaulted by the end of February, involving a total sum of HK$27.8 billion. This translates to a default rate of 19.3 per cent. As guarantor, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3349954/hong-kong-taxpayers-face-hk28-billion-covid-bad-loan-burden-smes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3349954/hong-kong-taxpayers-face-hk28-billion-covid-bad-loan-burden-smes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:30:08 +0000 Danny Mok Danny Mok Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of having underage sex and conning teen girls out of more than HK$30,000 (US$3,830) in a compensated dating scam. The force said on Monday the 36-year-old unemployed local man told the girls they could earn between HK$30,000 and HK$100,000. He told them he would collect the money from clients and transfer it to the girls, according to police. But he instead posed as a “customer” and had sex with one 15-year-old victim at a Yuen Long hotel and at... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349955/hongkonger-arrested-suspicion-underage-sex-and-scamming-girls-hk33000?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349955/hongkonger-arrested-suspicion-underage-sex-and-scamming-girls-hk33000?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:38:05 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong The number of phishing scams in Hong Kong fell by more than half last year but total losses suffered by victims doubled to HK$110 million (US$14 million), police have said. The latest numbers were revealed as police warned that workers remained susceptible to such scams. A recent phishing simulation involving hundreds of organisations across the city found that more than one in eight employees taking part clicked on malicious email links and nearly half went on to submit personal data. Police... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349768/number-phishing-cases-drops-hong-kong-victims-lose-more-money?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349768/number-phishing-cases-drops-hong-kong-victims-lose-more-money?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:30:12 +0000 CNA CNA Singapore’s national media network Mediacorp has responded to criticism from Malaysian organisations over its drama Highway to Somewhere, which some claim portrays the country as a hub for scam syndicates. In a statement, a spokesperson said the production had taken care in its depiction of Malaysia and that the storyline was not meant to target any specific country. The 20-episode Chinese-language series follows a married couple played by Romeo Tan and Jeanette Aw, and four friends portrayed by... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3349771/singapore-drama-sparks-malaysian-ire-over-scam-hub-depiction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3349771/singapore-drama-sparks-malaysian-ire-over-scam-hub-depiction?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 04:13:07 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Thai authorities have seized assets worth 8.3 billion baht (US$260 million) belonging to people behind an alleged money-laundering network linked to transnational cyber scam operations in Cambodia. The latest seizure by the Anti-Money Laundering Office included cash, cars, bank deposits and other securities, bringing the total value of assets confiscated in the widening probe to more than 20 billion baht, officials said at a briefing in Bangkok on Thursday. The network of offenders included... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3349581/thailand-snatches-us260-million-cross-border-scammers-decisive-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3349581/thailand-snatches-us260-million-cross-border-scammers-decisive-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 01:14:54 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A Hong Kong man has been jailed for 11 months and fined HK$4,500 (US$574) for selling his digital wallet, which a crime syndicate then used to receive HK$25,500 defrauded from donors who believed the money would be used to help victims of the Tai Po fire. West Kowloon Court heard on Thursday that Cham Shu-shing, a 32-year-old cook, sold his Alipay account to an unknown group of scammers last year for HK$3,800, knowing it would be used for illegal purposes. A police investigation revealed the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349493/man-jailed-11-months-giving-over-account-used-defraud-tai-po-fire-donors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349493/man-jailed-11-months-giving-over-account-used-defraud-tai-po-fire-donors?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:39:54 +0000 Danny Mok Danny Mok A Hong Kong car owner has lost HK$500,000 (US$63,800) to scammers posing as petrol company staff who exploited surging fuel prices by offering bogus top-up deals for membership cards, police have said. The victim received unsolicited WhatsApp messages from fraudsters claiming to represent a fuel company, according to a post on the force’s CyberDefender Facebook page on Wednesday. The scammers promised discounts through prepaid petrol cards and lured the victim into making immediate... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349398/hong-kong-car-owner-loses-hk500000-fuel-membership-card-scam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349398/hong-kong-car-owner-loses-hk500000-fuel-membership-card-scam?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:30:41 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Cambodia’s first law targeting scam centres, passed after mounting international pressure over the country’s massive fraud and trafficking economy, may do little to curb it unless authorities go after the officials and networks that have long enabled it, analysts have warned. Approved by parliament on Friday, the law takes aim at an industry estimated to generate up to US$19 billion annually and to have trafficked as many as 200,000 workers into compounds across the country. Justice Minister... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349298/cambodia-has-new-law-targeting-scams-it-just-another-paper-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349298/cambodia-has-new-law-targeting-scams-it-just-another-paper-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:17 +0000 Bryanna Entwistle Bryanna Entwistle On April 1, amid China’s cybercrime offensive in Southeast Asia, Cambodia extradited to China Li Xiong, former chairman of Huione Group, which had been severed from the US financial system last year for laundering at least US$336 million from cyber scams between 2021 and 2025. The US had also sanctioned Huione’s parent company, Prince Group, and indicted founder Chen Zhi. In January, Cambodia extradited Chen to China, securing the arrest of a man accused of being Cambodia’s biggest scam... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349051/beat-cambodias-scam-gangs-us-must-work-china-not-blame-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349051/beat-cambodias-scam-gangs-us-must-work-china-not-blame-it?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 21:30:07 +0000 Stephy Zhang Stephy Zhang Chinese basketball star Guo Ailun has reportedly been scammed of almost 10 million yuan (US$1.45 million) by an acquaintance, with his family reporting the incident to police. A mainland sports media outlet reported on Sunday night that Guo and his family were allegedly victims of a large-scale fraud perpetrated by a close friend, and there was currently no clear word on whether the missing funds could be recovered. The “friend” reportedly induced Guo to transfer almost 10 million yuan under the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3349157/china-basketball-star-guo-ailun-reportedly-loses-almost-10-million-yuan-investing-scam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3349157/china-basketball-star-guo-ailun-reportedly-loses-almost-10-million-yuan-investing-scam?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:30:08 +0000 Clifford Lo Clifford Lo English-speaking con artists have targeted university students seeking summer internships, using a bogus 40-minute orientation session for one victim to make their dubious job offers appear genuine, Hong Kong police have warned. The force issued the alert after a 19-year-old first-year university student fell for a dubious job offer last month and lost nearly HK$190,000 (US$24,230), saying scammers had prepared detailed scripts to deceive her and conducted the fraudulent recruitment process in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349115/warning-issued-after-university-student-loses-hk190000-internship-scam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349115/warning-issued-after-university-student-loses-hk190000-internship-scam?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 04:00:16 +0000 Laura Zhou Laura Zhou The compound is modern with air conditioning in every room. Inside are a medical clinic, massage parlour, and Vietnamese barbecue, Chinese hotpot and halal eateries – a full range of conveniences. Yet the residents are gone – and they appear to have fled in haste. Clothes still hang out to dry, while the stench of rotting food lingers. Located in a secluded area in Kampot province near Cambodia’s border with Vietnam, the site is believed to be a telecoms scam centre. Cambodian authorities said... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348930/game-whack-mole-how-could-scam-industry-bring-china-and-us-together?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348930/game-whack-mole-how-could-scam-industry-bring-china-and-us-together?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:00:10 +0000 CNA CNA A Malaysian electrician was recruited by a syndicate and travelled to Singapore to set up devices in a rented house that would blast thousands of automated scam calls, with call origins masked to appear like they were being made locally. The devices transmitted over 50,000 call sessions over a 50-minute period, linked to around 18,000 phone numbers, 40 of which later featured in 42 police reports. The call sessions contained automated voice messages perpetuating scams from purported government... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3348867/50-minutes-50000-calls-us12-million-lost-singapores-high-speed-scam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3348867/50-minutes-50000-calls-us12-million-lost-singapores-high-speed-scam?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 01:27:18 +0000 Danny Mok Danny Mok A housewife in Hong Kong has lost nearly HK$2.5 million (US$320,500) in an online shopping scam after she tried to buy collagen drinks for HK$530, according to police. The victim saw a Facebook post advertising collagen drinks and transferred HK$530 via Faster Payment System, police said on their CyberDefender Facebook page. The seller later claimed the item was out of stock and offered a refund, sending the woman a link to a fake Facebook page that asked for her online banking... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348716/hong-kong-woman-loses-hk25-million-online-collagen-drinks-scam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348716/hong-kong-woman-loses-hk25-million-online-collagen-drinks-scam?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:03:55 +0000 Oscar Liu Oscar Liu Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog has arrested 10 people on suspicion of working as part of a crime syndicate that used triad connections to take control of a HK$160 million (US$20.4 million) renovation project, among other offences. The operation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption also led police to arrest 32 suspects in raids on multiple New Territories premises believed to be controlled by the syndicate’s triad elements. The watchdog said on Monday it had arrested the owner... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348355/icac-arrests-42-hk180-million-crackdown-triad-linked-renovation-projects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348355/icac-arrests-42-hk180-million-crackdown-triad-linked-renovation-projects?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 05:28:09 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong court has remanded in custody another 10 people in connection with the HK$1.6 billion (US$205.8 million) in JPEX cryptocurrency scandal, bringing the number prosecuted in the city’s largest alleged financial fraud in recent years to 26. The latest development came nearly three years after the scandal broke out in 2023, when police revealed that more than 2,700 people had fallen victim to the alleged scam involving losses of more than HK$1.6 billion. Twenty-three counts of money... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348180/10-defendants-remanded-custody-jpex-cryptocurrency-fraud-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348180/10-defendants-remanded-custody-jpex-cryptocurrency-fraud-case?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:18:26 +0000 Edith Lin Edith Lin Hong Kong police have charged another 10 people in connection with the HK$1.6 billion (US$205.8 million) JPEX cryptocurrency scandal – the city’s largest alleged financial fraud in recent years. Four men and six women were charged on Thursday after investigations identified abnormal transactions in suspicious accounts linked to the case, police said. The suspects, aged between 26 and 47, will appear in Eastern Court on Friday charged with money laundering and conspiracy to launder money. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348049/police-charge-another-10-people-over-hk16-billion-jpex-cryptocurrency-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348049/police-charge-another-10-people-over-hk16-billion-jpex-cryptocurrency-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:21:29 +0000 Alice Yan Alice Yan An online influencer in China with three million followers who projects a filial piety persona has deleted her social media account in the wake of a pricing controversy. The deletion came in the wake of a media report that she sold two bottles of face cream for 69.9 yuan (US$10) when its original price was 3,999 yuan (US$580). As the influencer boasted the cosmetic product was imported from Australia, an investigative report by Lanjing News found that it was actually produced by an OEM factory... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3347134/how-china-influencer-achieves-monthly-sales-us14-million-selling-us10-beauty-products?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3347134/how-china-influencer-achieves-monthly-sales-us14-million-selling-us10-beauty-products?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:00:11 +0000 Lo Hoi-ying Lo Hoi-ying Hong Kong police have arrested 13 people on suspicion of laundering more than HK$113 million (US$14.4 million) using the government’s “iAM Smart” app in scams run by a syndicate. The force said on Friday that nine men and four women, aged between 38 and 75, were suspected of using victims’ “iAM Smart” accounts to launder money through “mule” bank accounts. “The syndicate placed fake job advertisements in newspapers, claiming to be hiring cleaners,” said Wong Yuk-yan, acting superintendent from... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347332/13-arrested-hong-kong-over-hk113-million-iam-smart-laundering-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347332/13-arrested-hong-kong-over-hk113-million-iam-smart-laundering-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:06:07 +0000 Leopold Chen Leopold Chen Hong Kong lawmaker Gary Chan Hak-kan has been impersonated in a scam that defrauded a victim of HK$38,000 (US$4,850), with the legislator calling the crime despicable. Police said on Wednesday they received a report from a woman the previous day, stating she had received a call from a man pretending to be another person who persuaded her to send money under false pretences. The woman transferred HK$38,000 to an account specified by the caller but subsequently lost contact with him, prompting her... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3346954/scammers-impersonate-hong-kong-lawmaker-defraud-resident-hk38000?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3346954/scammers-impersonate-hong-kong-lawmaker-defraud-resident-hk38000?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 02:51:51 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran For many of those rescued from Southeast Asia’s scam compounds, escape is not the end of the ordeal. They leave behind the locked gates, surveillance and violence, but often return home carrying injuries, trauma and the stigma of having been forced to scam others. Just as difficult is what comes next: trying to explain the experience to the people waiting for them. “Some of them are not able to tell their family members or their community what has happened,” said human rights advocate Andrey... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346532/southeast-asias-scam-compound-survivors-suffer-stigma-and-silence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346532/southeast-asias-scam-compound-survivors-suffer-stigma-and-silence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:08 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Scam syndicates allegedly from Malaysia are increasingly relying on couriers and physical handovers when targeting victims in Singapore, as tighter banking safeguards make fraudulent online transfers harder for them to pull off, according to police and crime experts. Recent police cases suggest some criminals are turning to cross-border transfers in which victims are pressured into handing over cash or valuables in Singapore before the proceeds are passed through “mules” working for scam... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346543/more-malaysian-scammers-target-singapore-based-victims-pass-cash-gold-mules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346543/more-malaysian-scammers-target-singapore-based-victims-pass-cash-gold-mules?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 06:00:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Meta disabled more than 150,000 accounts and Thai police arrested 21 people in a sweeping international crackdown on Southeast Asian criminal scam centres that targeted people around the world, the social media giant said on Wednesday. The operation was led by Thailand’s Royal Thai Police Anti-Cyber Scam Centre alongside the FBI and the US Justice Department’s Scam Centre Strike Force, with Meta investigators acting on intelligence shared in real time by law enforcement. Online scam networks –... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3346280/meta-disables-150000-accounts-global-sting-southeast-asian-scam-centres?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3346280/meta-disables-150000-accounts-global-sting-southeast-asian-scam-centres?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 01:12:19 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A former Hong Kong opposition district councillor has been jailed for three years and nine months for handling HK$590,000 (US$75,409) in telephone scam proceeds on behalf of a fraud syndicate, saying he wanted to earn quick cash to repay his gambling debts and cover his father’s medical expenses. Sheep Wong Chun-yeung, 31, had initially insisted that he was secretly gathering evidence against what he believed to be a triad-run debt collection ring when he received money from six elderly victims... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3346209/former-hong-kong-councillor-jailed-laundering-hk590000-phone-scam-proceeds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3346209/former-hong-kong-councillor-jailed-laundering-hk590000-phone-scam-proceeds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:01:40 +0000 Fran Lu Fran Lu A Chinese woman has revealed online that her mother was married to her younger brother posthumously, who then embezzled her properties as her widower. The 27-year-old woman from central China’s Henan province, surnamed Sun, lost her mother Zhao Fang to illness at the age of nine, in 2008. Since her parents were divorced and she had been living with her mother, Sun was adopted by her mother’s younger sister. She said her relatives notarised her mother’s assets around the time of her death. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3345541/china-woman-discovers-uncle-faked-marriage-her-late-mother-inherit-properties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3345541/china-woman-discovers-uncle-faked-marriage-her-late-mother-inherit-properties?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:00:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters Singapore police have announced arrests of three Singaporeans as part of investigations into ⁠alleged transnational scam syndicate Prince Group and its founder and chairman, Chen Zhi, who is in Chinese detention. Police said the three men were arrested between November 2025 and January for their suspected involvement in money laundering and fraud offences in relation to the case. Each offence is punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine or both. Assets frozen include three properties,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3345539/singapore-police-seize-yacht-cars-properties-worth-us390-million-prince-group-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3345539/singapore-police-seize-yacht-cars-properties-worth-us390-million-prince-group-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 06:48:56 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Thai court issued arrest warrants for a foreign businessman and his wife accused of investment fraud and money laundering, with one victim allegedly conned out of more than US$30 million, police said. Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) accused Ben Smith, also identified in news reports as South African Benjamin Mauerberger, and his wife, Cattaliya Beevor, of “cross-border investment fraud” dating back to 2016, according to a statement from the bureau on Monday. Media reports have... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3345234/thailand-issues-arrest-warrants-south-african-couple-us30-million-fraud-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3345234/thailand-issues-arrest-warrants-south-african-couple-us30-million-fraud-case?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 06:04:45 +0000 Adam Au Adam Au In January, Hong Kong’s financial regulator warned the public about an unlicensed “AI-based quantum high-frequency trading” scheme. While this was a case of old-school fraud dressed in new-tech clothing, it highlighted a deeper truth: where sophisticated technology meets finance, the potential for both innovation and harm grows exponentially. The real challenge is not these crude scams, but the legitimate, powerful AI agents now arriving in the marketplace. When this digital delegate makes a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3344608/ai-agents-advance-hong-kong-should-shape-rules-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3344608/ai-agents-advance-hong-kong-should-shape-rules-now?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 08:30:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A New York businesswoman was sentenced on Friday to nine years in federal prison over a financial scheme that ripped off more than US$30 million from foreign investors and funnelled some of the stolen money into American political campaigns, including a fundraiser for US President Donald Trump. Sherry Xue Li was also ordered to forfeit US$31.5 million, as well as property at three locations, and to make restitution to her victims. The 54-year-old Oyster Bay resident, who has been detained since... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344944/sherry-xue-jailed-funnelling-chinese-investor-funds-trump-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344944/sherry-xue-jailed-funnelling-chinese-investor-funds-trump-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 22:03:17 +0000 Zoey Zhang Zoey Zhang In China, some young people are paying steep prices for wish candles sold by influencers, hoping to rekindle a romance. One such influencer, Li Zhuofan, built a following of more than 600,000 on mainland social media after appearing on the Russian reality show The Battle of Psychics, where she used a candle to “locate” a person hidden in a car boot and claimed she could sense that someone had once died in another vehicle. After returning to China, Li began selling handmade wish candles online.... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3344487/china-influencer-earns-us7-million-wish-candles-sale-arrest-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3344487/china-influencer-earns-us7-million-wish-candles-sale-arrest-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 10:00:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Wednesday that scam centres were destroying his country’s economy and giving the nation a bad name – pushing back on allegations of government connivance. The nation has emerged as a hotspot for crime syndicates running a multibillion-dollar fraud industry that sees scammers lure internet users globally into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments. “The scam network, what we call the black economy, is destroying our honest economy.... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3344713/cambodias-hun-manet-denies-state-profiting-scam-centre-proceeds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3344713/cambodias-hun-manet-denies-state-profiting-scam-centre-proceeds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 07:39:02 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk When Brazilian K-pop fan Tami spotted a social media post last month selling a rare Polaroid photo signed by ZeroBaseOne member Zhang Hao, she jumped at the opportunity. The seller identified himself as a South Korean named Park Chae-ah, according to the Chosun Daily newspaper. She transferred the money. Then Park switched his account to private and vanished. Tami* is far from alone. Across Brazil, home to one of Latin America’s most passionate Korean pop culture communities, scammers have found... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3344425/k-wave-scams-exploiting-brazils-superfans-triggers-police-pact?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3344425/k-wave-scams-exploiting-brazils-superfans-triggers-police-pact?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 06:23:35 +0000 Fran Lu Fran Lu The authorities in Shanghai have arrested a group of self-styled doctors who carried out “bloodletting therapy” claiming it would remove “evil energy” from people. Footage of three people performing the therapy on a man, which was released by Shanghai TV recently, shocked social media. The video shows that three self-styled doctors insert a long needle into a man’s arm before letting the blood flow out along the needle, forming a small pool of blood on the floor. They reassured the man that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3343296/self-styled-china-doctors-nabbed-performing-bloodletting-therapy-remove-evil-energy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3343296/self-styled-china-doctors-nabbed-performing-bloodletting-therapy-remove-evil-energy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 01:00:08 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A law firm has asked a Hong Kong court to bar police from inspecting privileged documents seized during a raid earlier this month as part of an ongoing investigation into the rising number of “crash-for-cash” scams. In a written application for judicial review on Monday, Raymond Lam & Associates asked the High Court to issue an order for police to return 66 files that reportedly contained confidential letters and medical documents belonging to at least 61 clients. The court filing, seen by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3344164/law-firm-asks-court-block-access-files-seized-crash-cash-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3344164/law-firm-asks-court-block-access-files-seized-crash-cash-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:37:34 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The UN human rights agency on Friday called on governments to clamp down on scam centres, which have mushroomed in Southeast Asia and where hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into forced labour. The agency released a report documenting torture, sexual abuse, forced abortions, food deprivation, solitary confinement and other abuses. “The litany of abuse is staggering and at the same time heartbreaking,” UN Human Rights high commissioner Volker Turk said, calling on governments... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3344166/water-prisons-torture-un-urges-crackdown-brutal-southeast-asia-scam-centres?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3344166/water-prisons-torture-un-urges-crackdown-brutal-southeast-asia-scam-centres?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:29:07 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A Hong Kong court has ordered the liquidation of a scandal-plagued Christian charity for failing to repay HK$61 million (US$7.8 million) granted by the government to renovate a defunct boarding school for drug addicts. In a written judgment on Monday, the High Court granted the Department of Justice’s petition to wind up the Christian Zheng Sheng Association over the debts arising from a material change in board leadership after a high-profile fraud case came to light in 2024. The association is... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3343727/hong-kong-court-orders-scandal-hit-christian-zheng-sheng-association-be-liquidated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3343727/hong-kong-court-orders-scandal-hit-christian-zheng-sheng-association-be-liquidated?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:58:38 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The good news is scam cases are down. The bad news is they are still elevated, accounting for nearly half of the 89,137 crimes recorded in 2025. So don’t uncork the champagne just yet. Scam cases fell 2.9 per cent last year compared with the year before, marking their first drop since 2019. Overall, crimes fell by 5.9 per cent, according to police. Hong Kong remains one of the safest cities in the world, but we do need to get better at detecting and deterring scams. There is only so much police... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3343440/hong-kong-polices-fight-against-scams-needs-more-public-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3343440/hong-kong-polices-fight-against-scams-needs-more-public-support?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 22:45:08 +0000 Ivan Franceschini,Charlotte Setijadi,Ling Li Ivan Franceschini,Charlotte Setijadi,Ling Li “I was running from the war, and I got to a war again.” This is how Eric, a young man from central Africa, described how he ended up at a scam compound in Cambodia – and then stranded in the country with no way out. His story is like that of many people deceived into the scamming world. After fleeing conflict in his home country and living in extreme deprivation, Eric – not his real name – received an email offering a US$2,000-per-month job in Cambodia. The recruiter quickly persuaded him to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3343519/cambodias-scam-factory-survivors-find-no-escape-freedom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3343519/cambodias-scam-factory-survivors-find-no-escape-freedom?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 04:00:18 +0000 Alice Yan Alice Yan A number of psychiatric hospitals in central China have been exposed over a scam in which they lure healthy people to become patients in a bid to defraud the public medical insurance scheme. According to an undercover report by the Beijing News, most of the patients in such privately run psychiatric institutions in Xiangyang, Hubei province, do not show any abnormal behaviour and receive little treatment. The healthy individuals told the newspaper that they stayed there because of a “free... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3342348/public-fury-china-mental-hospitals-recruit-people-impersonate-patients-insurance-scam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3342348/public-fury-china-mental-hospitals-recruit-people-impersonate-patients-insurance-scam?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 08:00:11 +0000 William Yiu William Yiu Hong Kong’s police chief has slammed the alleged involvement of a lawyer and doctors in a spate of so-called crash-for-cash scams as “unforgivable and unacceptable”. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said on Saturday that the force would speed up its investigation into such cases and expected a fresh wave of arrests. He noted police previously arrested a couple and two doctors for their alleged roles in more than 20 crash-for-cash scams, adding that officers were investigating more than... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3343566/unforgivable-police-chief-slams-lawyer-doctors-linked-crash-cash-scams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3343566/unforgivable-police-chief-slams-lawyer-doctors-linked-crash-cash-scams?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 06:08:15 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Brazilian prosecutors and police launched an extensive crackdown on a Chinese electronics distribution network accused of laundering more than one billion reais (US$190 million) over seven months through a system allegedly related to one of Latin America’s most powerful crime syndicates. The Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, syndicate allegedly sold imported consumer electronics throughout Brazil via a Chinese e-commerce platform called “Knup Brasil”, including mobile phone chargers,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3343545/brazil-breaks-china-linked-us190m-money-laundering-ring-tied-top-crime-syndicate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3343545/brazil-breaks-china-linked-us190m-money-laundering-ring-tied-top-crime-syndicate?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 18:32:56 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Paris prosecutors' office on Thursday said that nine people were being detained as part of an investigation into a suspected decade-long, €10 million (US$11.8 million) ticket fraud scheme at the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum. The arrests took place on Tuesday as part of a judicial investigation opened after the Louvre filed a complaint in December 2024, the prosecutors’ office said. The loss for the museum over the past decade is estimated to exceed €10 million, it said. Those... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343382/9-arrested-over-louvre-ticket-fraud-scheme-involving-chinese-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343382/9-arrested-over-louvre-ticket-fraud-scheme-involving-chinese-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 19:56:20 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Human trafficking syndicates operating across Southeast Asia are increasingly laundering their profits through cryptocurrency, a shift that reflects how swiftly these networks are scaling up and exploiting the ease of moving funds across borders, according to findings by a US blockchain analysis firm. Crypto transactions linked to suspected trafficking operations surged 85 per cent in 2025 to hundreds of millions of dollars, Chainalysis said in its 2026 crypto crime report, which tracked illicit... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343325/more-southeast-asian-human-trafficking-gangs-use-crypto-move-illegal-funds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343325/more-southeast-asian-human-trafficking-gangs-use-crypto-move-illegal-funds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 13:00:09 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Chinese authorities say their investigation of a high-profile scandal at one of the country’s leading state-run museums has revealed systemic mismanagement and alleged corruption over decades that allowed national treasures to be funnelled into the private art market. The scandal broke in late December when reports alleged that Nanjing Museum in eastern Jiangsu province had secretly sold donated paintings, prompting an investigation that focused on a former director accused of mishandling the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3343035/chinese-probe-nanjing-museum-scandal-alleges-historic-mismanagement-and-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3343035/chinese-probe-nanjing-museum-scandal-alleges-historic-mismanagement-and-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 08:00:12 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Criminals in Southeast Asia are harnessing inexpensive AI tools to target bigger pools of potential victims at high speed, keeping scam centres humming even as governments try to crack down, senior officials at Interpol say. Previously, some scams were easy to spot – from poor quality online ads luring people to work in such centres to the scams themselves, typically designed to make people part with their money through the promise of romance or investment returns. Now, scammers are using large... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3343016/southeast-asias-scam-hubs-are-adept-conning-now-ai-making-it-easier-faster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3343016/southeast-asias-scam-hubs-are-adept-conning-now-ai-making-it-easier-faster?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 05:22:57 +0000 Pheaktra Neth Pheaktra Neth Transnational online crime is one of the most serious security challenges facing the global community. It drives human trafficking and forced labour, enables large-scale fraud, destabilises economies and erodes public trust in digital financial systems. No country is immune, and no country can confront this threat alone. In Cambodia, we are confronting this challenge directly. Prime Minister Hun Manet has made cyber-enabled crime, including online scams, trafficking and digital fraud, a national... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3342670/cambodia-frontline-battle-against-transnational-scam-syndicates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3342670/cambodia-frontline-battle-against-transnational-scam-syndicates?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Ji Siqi,Eunice Xu Ji Siqi,Eunice Xu With China explicitly banning onshore tokenisation of real-world assets (RWAs) while tightening scrutiny of related offshore activities, analysts say the clampdown is aimed at curbing financial fraud and disorderly capital outflows, while still preserving space for regulated innovation in markets such as Hong Kong. Tokenisation refers to the process of converting the rights to an RWA – including real estate, art, bonds and commodities like gold – into a digital token. Such tokens represent... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3342952/chinas-necessary-asset-tokenisation-ban-targets-scams-and-capital-flight-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3342952/chinas-necessary-asset-tokenisation-ban-targets-scams-and-capital-flight-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 12:30:19 +0000 Fran Lu Fran Lu A fashion influencer with three million followers says her personal assistant is a con artist who stole her online profiles and pretended to be a student at Harvard University. The influencer Chen Xin, who uses the handle @Daxin-kissis, accused her assistant of six years of faking an identity of a rich young Chinese woman studying at Harvard Medical School on January 24. The woman, surnamed Jiang, allegedly used her employer’s password to enter her home, wore her luxury clothes, including... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3342218/assistant-successful-china-influencer-steals-identities-earning-us158000-tips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3342218/assistant-successful-china-influencer-steals-identities-earning-us158000-tips?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 10:00:09 +0000 Zoey Zhang Zoey Zhang An orphan, trained as a cold-hearted assassin, learns what love truly means from a master thief. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, however, she kills her lover, granting him freedom as her final gift. Joyce, from Shenzhen in southern China, played this female killer in a script-killing game, and after a 10-hour plot unfolding, tears streamed down her face upon reaching this ending. She is one of many participating in the recently booming romantic script-killing games in China. In traditional... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3342530/china-women-pay-companions-role-playing-games-spark-love-commercialisation-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3342530/china-women-pay-companions-role-playing-games-spark-love-commercialisation-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 06:00:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters In a Cambodian compound with rooms designed to look like Singaporean and Australian police offices, papers were strewn across desks and floors: the detritus of a fraud factory abandoned in haste. Among the documents were profiles of a 73-year-old Japanese retiree, complete with his phone number and bank account balance, and an American woman who disclosed that she was a victim of domestic abuse. Nearby were scripts to commit love scams and impersonate police, as well as a room set up to resemble... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3342740/cambodian-scam-victims-details-found-inside-compound-reveal-reach-cyber-gangs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3342740/cambodian-scam-victims-details-found-inside-compound-reveal-reach-cyber-gangs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Feb 2026 00:52:04 +0000