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Scams and swindles

Scams and swindles
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Scams and swindles. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
The former premises of Christian Zheng Sheng College on Lantau Island. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Hong Kong courts

Hong Kong court orders Christian Zheng Sheng Association to be liquidated

Judge rules in government’s favour after charity failed to repay HK$61 million to public fund in the wake of a fraud scandal in 2024.

Crime in Hong Kong

Editorial | Hong Kong police’s fight against scams needs more public support

Cambodia

Opinion | Cambodia’s scam factory survivors find no escape in freedom

Trending in China

Public fury as China mental hospitals recruit fake patients for insurance scam

‘Healthy’ so-called patients lured into psychiatric facilities with promise of long, cheap stay; receive little treatment, face ‘beatings’.

A number of psychiatric hospitals in central China have been exposed for luring healthy people to pose as mental patients in a scheme to defraud medical insurance. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo/Douyin
Crime in Hong Kong

‘Unforgivable’: police chief slams lawyer, doctors linked to crash-for-cash scams

‘Knowledgeable professionals should not do such immoral and unethical things,’ Commissioner of Police Joe Chow says.

China-Latin America relations

Brazil breaks up China-linked US$190m money-laundering ring tied to crime gang

Prosecutors claim Chinese-run distribution network concealed revenue, evaded tax obligations and fostered money laundering of drug proceeds.

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France

9 arrested over Louvre ticket fraud scheme involving Chinese tourists

The world-famous museum says it lost nearly US$12 million over the past decade as the result of tickets being reused for different visitors.

Tourists near the Louvre Pyramid in Paris. Photo: AFP
Human trafficking

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

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Crime in China

China’s Nanjing Museum scandal probe uncovers historic mismanagement, corruption

Museum admits to ‘systemic problems’, pledges reform after ‘severe’ damage caused to image of cultural and museum industry.

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Southeast Asia forced-labour scams

Easier, faster, cheaper: how AI is revolutionising Southeast Asia’s scam hubs

Technology is enabling gangs to target more victims efficiently and expand operations as governments struggle to tackle evolving cybercrime.

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Counterfeit US dollar banknotes on the floor inside a scam compound in Samraong, Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province. Photo: Reuters
Cambodia

Opinion | Cambodia is in a frontline battle against transnational scam syndicates

Targeted due to geography, Cambodia is on the front foot now, dismantling scam compounds, rescuing victims and prosecuting criminals.

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In a November 12 raid, the Cambodian authorities rounded up thousands at an online fraud compound in Bavet City, the largest city in the southeastern province of Svay Rieng, which shares a border with Vietnam. Photo: Handout
Cryptocurrency

Scams and outflows: why China slammed the door on real-world asset tokens

Beijing’s clampdown aims to help safeguard financial security and monetary sovereignty while leaving room for regulated fintech innovation in Hong Kong.

Myanmar

Video | Scam centre members apologise in broadcast confession

Core members of the Myanmar-based telecoms fraud syndicate Ming Zhenzhen and Bai Yingcang apologised for causing harm to Chinese citizens.

Trending in China

Assistant of successful China influencer steals identities, earns US$158,000 in tips

Identity thief steals fashion content creator’s photographs; wears her pyjamas, stockings to stage lucrative live-streaming sessions.

A Chinese influencer with three million followers has accused her assistant of using her password to access her home, wearing her clothes for photographs and using artificial intelligence to insert her image into her content. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/RedNote
Trending in China

China women pay for ‘companions’ in role-playing games, spark love debate

Sociologists suggest that many Chinese women view role-playing games as a safe, low-risk opportunity to ‘rehearse romance’.

A trend is growing among Chinese women that involves hiring a “love companion” during script-killing games where participants engage in a fictional scenario, often with a male host. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/RedNote
Cambodia

Scripts, bank details and military rules: Cambodian scam compound secrets

Mostly run by Chinese criminal gangs and staffed partly by trafficking victims, these complexes have proliferated across Indochina.

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Crime in Hong Kong

Hongkongers lost HK$350 million in online shopping scams in first 11 months of 2025

Police say about 63 per cent of cases between January and November last year involved bogus concert ticket sales.

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Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong man jailed for laundering millions through scam-linked bank accounts

Court hands down stiff sentence to deter growing abuse of personal bank accounts.

The 38-year-old defendant was sentenced to 44 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to two counts of money laundering at the District Court in Wan Chai. Photo: Jelly Tse
Crime

Video | Fake police station and uniforms found in Cambodian scam centre

Fake law enforcement uniforms with markings from several jurisdictions, including China and Singapore, were found along with mock police stations apparently used to intimidate victims.

Crime in Hong Kong

Police arrest 4 in Hong Kong over ‘crash-for-cash’ scams

Married couple and two doctors detained on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.

Crime in Hong Kong

Video | Hongkongers scammed out of millions on Carousell

Police say more than 110 cases of scams connected to popular online shopping platform took place over a week-long period in late January.

Carousell scams
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South Korea

‘Ruin you’: Cambodians outraged by South Korean president’s anti-scam threat

Critics said Lee Jae Myung should have posted in Chinese, not Khmer, as his warning to foreign syndicates sparked anger across Cambodia.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet shake hands during a summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 25, 2025. Photo: Korea Times
Myanmar

Video | 4 more telecoms fraud gang members executed in China

Members of the Bai family syndicate were convicted of telecoms fraud, murder and drug trafficking.

Cambodia

Inside an abandoned Cambodian scam centre seized by Thai troops

Fake law enforcement uniforms from nations including China and Singapore were found alongside mock police sets used to intimidate victims.

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Crime in China

China moves to boost cybercrime penalties by adding exit ban after sentences

Amid cross-border crackdown, draft Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law bill lists exit bans among tools to punish cybercriminals.

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A draft bill announced by China’s public security ministry aims to impose an exit ban on Chinese found guilty of cross-border online crimes for up to three years after serving their sentence. Photo: Shutterstock
Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police arrest hundreds in HK$620 million fraud, laundering crackdown

Operations target misuse of bank accounts, romance scams and money laundering through virtual currencies.

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Police seized about HK$620 million in suspected criminal proceeds. Photo: Jelly Tse
Indonesia

Interpol issues red notice for Indonesian oil tycoon in US$285 million scandal

Mohammad Riza Chalid is wanted in Indonesia for his alleged involvement in corruption at state-owned oil company Pertamina.

China-Asean relations

Nearly 1,800 Chinese among thousands held as Cambodian police raid scam compound

Action ‘truly reflects’ that Cambodian government will never loosen crackdowns on online scammers, interior ministry spokesman says.

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