A Chinese woman living in Hong Kong has been scammed of 980,000 Yuan (US$143,500) by a con-artist pretending to be a policeman in Beijing. The victim received a phone call from the scammer, accusing her of being involved in money laundering.
The 29-year-old woman called the police on Monday as soon as she realized she has been duped. The phone call she received was from a man alleging to be an officer with Beijing's public security bureau.
According to the South China Morning Post, the scammer accused the woman of being involved in a case of money laundering. He demanded money from the victim, and ordered her to transfer them to a particular bank account as a surety for police investigations into the matter.
The woman did what she was told, sending 980,000 Yuan to an account on the mainland.
Similarly, on Monday, a money exchange store on Kik Yeung Road in Yuen Long has also been duped by a money transfer scam, losing 870,000 Yuan. The female staff member of the store called the police at 8 PM saying a man presented fake bank deposit slip claiming HK$1 million had been deposited in the bank account of the company through an online platform. The scammer asked to transfer the money into a bank account in the mainland. The victim followed the instruction, transferring 870,000 Yuan.
The woman realized she had been duped after checking the account of the company, wherein she discovered there's no such amount had ever been deposited.
Additionally, on Tuesday, a 74-year-old woman from She Tin also called the police claiming she had been duped out of HK$60,000. According to the officers, the scammer pretends to be a mainland law enforcer claiming the woman was involved in a criminal case across the border. He demanded her to transfer money for investigative purposes, and she sent HK$60,000.
Just last year, there are 991 reports of phone scams handled by Hong Kong police - involving a total loss of HK$229.4 million. In 2016, about 1,138 such scams reported, with the swindlers stealing HK$221.58 million. One of the biggest phone scam in the city was the case of a 52-year-old Yuen Long resident in 2016. The victim has been scammed of more than HK$58 million.
Scammers are usually accusing the victims in regards to violating mainland laws. They will be instructed to prove innocence and willingness to cooperate with police if they will transfer money to a bank account. Other scammers were fabricating kidnap scenarios claiming that the relative of the victim had been abducted and a ransom was needed for their release.
