A local elderly woman has lost HK$420,000 (433,230 patacas) in two phone scams, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said in a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Lei, the woman received a call from a hidden number on Thursday and thought it was her son. The caller claimed to have been involved in a fight with “his ex-girlfriend’s husband” and was currently at a police station, needing to pay HK$220,000 as “medical fees.” The caller told her that the case was being handled by a “lawyer named Chen.” The woman later that day handed HK$220,000 to a man claiming to be “lawyer Chen” in the central district.
The woman received another hidden number call on Friday, in which the caller claimed to be “lawyer Chen’s assistant.” The caller asked for an additional payment of HK$200,000 as “medical fees”. The woman travelled alone to Hong Kong the same day to hand over HK$200,000 to a man claiming to be “lawyer Chen’s assistant.”
The woman mentioned the incident to her son during dinner on Friday, but her son said it never happened. The woman realised she had been scammed and reported the total loss of HK$420,000 to the police on Saturday.
