Two local men reported to the police separately last week that they had been cheated out of HK$3,100 and HK$1,000, respectively, in online scams, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said at a press conference on Monday.
According to Ho, a local man received a message on a social media app on July 13 about an “express loan” (極速貸) without collateral. The victim told the police that he needed cash urgently and contacted the company’s customer service which said that they could offer him a HK$50,000 loan at a monthly interest of HK$2,000 and a HK$3,000 handling fee. The victim transferred 3,100 patacas to a local bank account and afterwards the customer service asked for other kinds of payments. The victim asked the customer service to send him the loan documents. He then lost contact with the customer service so he reported the case to the police last Friday.
Meanwhile, the other male victim reported to the Judiciary Police last Friday that he had been cheated out of HK$1,000 by the same online loan app last week. He applied for a HK$60,000 loan and the customer service required him to pay HK$2,400 monthly interest and a HK$3,000 handling fee. The victim initially transferred HK$1,000 to a local bank account and told the customer service that he would pay the remaining fee after he received the loan payment. He then lost contact with the customer service and reported the case to the police, Ho said.
The Judiciary Police issued a statement on Monday, urging the public to be vigilant against online fraud and not to transfer money to any strangers to prevent being cheated.
The statement pointed out that the scammers either call the victims and claim that they are customer service staff of a loan company, or they post ads on social media apps offering loans without collateral.
The fraudsters usually ask victims to download apps on their smartphones and provide them with their personal information such as ID card numbers, bank account numbers, and residential addresses. When reviewing the loan, the scammers ask for payments such as handling fees so that the purported loan document can be signed. After transferring the money, the victims usually lose contact with the scammers, the statement underlined.
The Judiciary Police urged the public to be alert to protect their personal information and apply for loans only from reputable licensed lenders, the statement said.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam looks on during a press briefing at the Public Security Police (PSP) press room on Monday.
