Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Hong Kong records near sixfold rise in technology-based crimes in a decade, with monetary losses of S$501 million in 2020 alone, police say

Hong Kong records near sixfold rise in technology-based crimes in a decade, with monetary losses of S$501 million in 2020 alone, police say

Hong Kong recorded a near sixfold increase in the number of technology-based crimes in the past decade, hitting about 13,000 cases and monetary losses totalling HK$2.96 billion (S$0.5 billion) in 2020, the latest figures show.

According to police, reports of cybercrime rose from 2,206 in 2011 to 12,916 last year, while the amount of money involved increased from HK$148 million to HK$2.96 billion, a 20-fold rise.

Last year’s crime figure was also 55 per cent more than the 8,322 cases in 2019.

Superintendent Terry Cheung Tin-lok of the cyber security and technology crime bureau said the surge in cybercrime in 2020 was mainly fuelled by a sharp rise in the number of online shopping scams.

Police handled 6,678 reports of internet shopping fraud last year, up more than 200 per cent from 2,194 cases in 2019.

“The amount of money involved also increased 350 per cent to more than HK$120 million last year [from HK$27.3 million the year before],” Cheung said.

He attributed the rise to a new type of fraud, surgical mask scams, which broke out as Hongkongers were desperate to protect themselves when the coronavirus pandemic gripped the city early last year.

In 2020, police received reports of about 2,400 mask scams involving financial losses totalling more than HK$70 million. The biggest case centred on a clinic that was duped by fraudsters posing as overseas mask suppliers into transferring HK$20 million to 14 bank accounts in the United States, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Turkey.

Another type of cybercrime was online romance fraud. The number of online love scams nearly doubled to 905 cases last year, with victims cheated out of HK$212 million.

After noticing the surge in online shopping scams, police mounted two operations, code-named “Ironwarrior”, in January and April this year.

In the latest crackdown, police rounded up 69 Hongkongers between April 18 and 30.

In 2020, police received reports of about 2,400 mask scams involving financial losses totalling more than HK$70 million. 

The suspects – 44 men and 25 women – were accused of being involved in 329 online shopping frauds in which swindlers bagged more than HK$1.6 million.

They included the core members of two fraud syndicates and the holders of bank accounts that were used to collect and launder scammed money.

They were arrested on suspicion of obtaining property by deception, money laundering and blackmail.

Cybercrimes from ‘sextortion’ to love scams surge, scammers prey on young spending more time online amid Covid-19 pandemic

Of them, 26 people were from two fraud syndicates who duped more than 120 people out of nearly HK$400,000.

One of the syndicates was accused of luring customers into buying products ranging from flowers to electrical appliances via social media platforms between last October and March this year.

Victims who transferred money into designated bank accounts controlled by scammers contacted police after the goods were not delivered and attempts to contact the sellers failed.

Police said a total of 112 people fell victim to the scam and were cheated out of more than HK$278,000.

In a series of raids on April 19 and 20, officers arrested 21 Hongkongers – 13 men and eight women – in connection with the cases.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×