A local woman in her thirties was cheated out of over HK$400,000 by scammers impersonating mainland officials in a phone scam, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said during a regular conference on Monday.
According to Chan, the victim received a phone call on June 1 from a number unknown to her. Chan said the male caller claimed that he was an official from the Guangzhou Health Bureau, and told the victim that another phone number registered in her name was spreading fake information about the pandemic.
The victim denied the accusation and said she had not registered the number, Chan said, adding that the impersonator then transferred the call to another man who spoke Putonghua and claimed he was a Guangzhou “senior police officer”. Chan said the “police officer” asked the victim to confirm that the phone number on the official website of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) was the one he was calling from, after which the victim found the number matched the one on the website.
According to Chan, the victim soon received another phone call from the number and the same police impersonator. The victim then told the “police officer” what the “Guangzhou Health Bureau official” had told her, Chan said, adding that the “police officer” noted down the case about spreading fake information, but also told the victim that she was also involved in a money laundering case and asked her to download Skype to talk to a prosecutor related to the case.
Chan said after the victim downloaded Skype she started talking to the “prosecutor”, who asked her to transfer money to his bank account and download two more apps. Both actions, Chan said, were to “reveal” the victim’s financial status to the “prosecutor”. Later that same day, the victim transferred HK$242,300 to the “prosecutor’s” Hong Kong bank account and another HK$165,000 on the next day.
Chan said the victim started to become suspicious after the “prosecutor” asked her to cancel her fixed deposit account to “further cooperate” with him. Chan said the victim then called the Public Security Bureau where an officer informed her that she might have been scammed, and she called the Judiciary Police (PJ) for help immediately. The case was still under investigation at the time of Monday’s press conference.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man looks on during Monday’s regular press conference. Photo: Yuki Lei
