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Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
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Woman loses HK$65m in biggest 'mainland officials' phone scam of 2022
A 40-year-old woman lost HK$65 million in a 10-month phone scam where fraudsters pretended to be mainland officials, marking it the biggest scam the city has seen so far in 2022.
The woman reported the case to police on Sunday and said she first received a call last June from one of the fraudsters who claimed to be an official working in the Liaison Office of Central People's Government in Hong Kong.
The fraudster accused the woman of being involving in a case of releasing false information regarding Covid-19 vaccine in the mainland. She was then given a fake website of the Chinese People's Procuratorate and was asked to enter information including bank account numbers and passcodes for so-called “background check.”
Between June and August last year, the woman met the four fraudsters at specific places five times and inserted her own SIM card into the phones provided by them, which were modified and could intercept the one-time passwords sent by the bank's computer system when making a transaction.
Police added that the fraudsters called the woman everyday for a report, making her believe that she was indeed involved in a criminal case in the mainland.
The last time she met the fraudster, she was asked to wire HK$46 million to a bank account and was provided a fake commercial contract at the same time, so she could explain to the bank that she was doing business with a company and could escape any possible inquiry.
The woman only told her families about this incident this April and her husband talked to a fraudster himself on phone. He then suspected this was a scam after the fraudster also accused him of being involved in another case.
They checked the woman's bank account and further found that another HK$19 million was transferred to some other accounts without the woman even knowing. The woman lost HK$65 million in total and she finally filed a report to the police on Sunday.
Police are now searching for the five fraudsters who speak fluent Mandarin and investigating if there are any more victims. The five fraudsters didn't know the woman in person and the investigation is still ongoing.
Officers also warned that this type of scam where fraudsters pretend to be mainland officials is the most dangerous as victims' bank accounts are involved, meaning they could lose all their savings at once.
The fraudster accused the woman of being involving in a case of releasing false information regarding Covid-19 vaccine in the mainland. She was then given a fake website of the Chinese People's Procuratorate and was asked to enter information including bank account numbers and passcodes for so-called “background check.”
Between June and August last year, the woman met the four fraudsters at specific places five times and inserted her own SIM card into the phones provided by them, which were modified and could intercept the one-time passwords sent by the bank's computer system when making a transaction.
Police added that the fraudsters called the woman everyday for a report, making her believe that she was indeed involved in a criminal case in the mainland.
The last time she met the fraudster, she was asked to wire HK$46 million to a bank account and was provided a fake commercial contract at the same time, so she could explain to the bank that she was doing business with a company and could escape any possible inquiry.
The woman only told her families about this incident this April and her husband talked to a fraudster himself on phone. He then suspected this was a scam after the fraudster also accused him of being involved in another case.
They checked the woman's bank account and further found that another HK$19 million was transferred to some other accounts without the woman even knowing. The woman lost HK$65 million in total and she finally filed a report to the police on Sunday.
Police are now searching for the five fraudsters who speak fluent Mandarin and investigating if there are any more victims. The five fraudsters didn't know the woman in person and the investigation is still ongoing.
Officers also warned that this type of scam where fraudsters pretend to be mainland officials is the most dangerous as victims' bank accounts are involved, meaning they could lose all their savings at once.
