Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 24, 2023

12 arrests over phone scams

12 arrests over phone scams

Twelve people, including a woman, have been arrested for allegedly cheating victims of HK$4.5 million in 95 cases of phone scams.
The police broke the syndicate in a two-day operation that ended last Friday. The scams involved offering low-interest-rate loans and preying on the elderly.

The alleged scammers, aged between 15 and 35, were arrested for conspiracy to defraud.

They included three secondary students, two transportation workers, a construction worker and a cleaning worker. The others claimed they were unemployed.

The three students helped to meet victims and collect money from them.

Among the 95 cases, 81 are loan frauds involving HK$3.4 million from victims aged between 21 and 64, with HK$270,000 the highest amount in a single case.

Fraudsters pretended to be staff from local banks or solicitors, and telephoned the victims randomly, saying they could provide low-interest-rate loans, according to police.

They then demanded 10 percent of the loans as security deposits, with amounts ranging from HK$10,000 to HK$270,000. The scammers disappeared after receiving the deposit.

In the other 14 scams, the targets were mainly aged from 56 to 89.

The scammers pretended to be family members or friends of the victims. They claimed they had been arrested by the police and asked the victims to bail them out. The 14 victims lost HK$1.1 million.

Chief Inspector Ng Man-ho of Crime New Territories South Regional Headquarters said they spotted the syndicate from January. "We found air guns and other weapons in an industrial building in Mong Kok which were believed to be used for recruiting 'puppets'," Ng said.

Two men were arrested on Friday when they were collecting "bail money" from an 83-year-old woman.

The police then arrested 10 more suspects across the city. A 17-year-old boy was also arrested for possession of imitation guns, offensive weapons and drugs.

Police also seized two computers, 18 smartphones, bank cards, a banknote counter and HK$70,000 in cash.

There have been 12,326 scam cases with victims losing over HK$2.1 billion in the first half of 2022, 41.6 percent more than the same period last year.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
Close
0:00
0:00
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Goldman Sachs cuts outlook for European bank debt over Credit Suisse crisis
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
The US government has charged Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with leading a $1 billion fraud scheme that cheated thousands of followers out of their money.
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
The BBC problem about China
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
"Will Fly Wherever International Law Allows": US Warns Russia After Drone Incident
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Announcing GPT-4
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
China is calling out the US, UK, and Australia on their submarine pact, claiming they are going further down a dangerous road
A brief banking situation report
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
'No relation to the American SVB': India's SVC Bank acts to calm depositors amid brand name confusion.
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Saudi Arabia has announced a major breakthrough in diplomacy with Iran after two years of intense talks
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
Silicon Valley Bank: Struggles Threaten Tech Startup Ecosystem"
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
2 universities in Hong Kong embrace use of ChatGPT, other AI tools
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
Missing Chinese banker was working to set up Singapore family office
Hong Kong ditches Covid mask mandate after 945 days
Xi Jinping and His Wife Meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
When it comes to Tesla vs Lamborghini, an empty vessel makes more noise
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Former U.S. President Carter will spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care instead of medication
North Korea test-fires an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan west of Hokkaido
×