Two people reported to the police on Sunday separately that they had been cheated in similar fraud scams, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said in a regular conference yesterday.
Chan identified the scam tactic as “guess who I am”, which usually involves swindlers pretending to be a relative or a friend of the victim.
According to Chan, a retiree from Hong Kong who is in his seventies received a phone call on Thursday from a man claiming to be his nephew in Hong Kong. The male scammer said that he had changed his mobile phone number and made small talk with the victim for a while.
The “nephew” called the victim the next morning and told the retiree that he had been arrested for frequenting a prostitute and asked for HK$80,000 to pay his bail. Chan said that the victim, believed what his “nephew” said, then followed his instructions and transferred the money to a Hong Kong bank account.
On Friday, the scammer called the victim again and claimed that bail had increased since the “prostitute” was “underage” and required an additional HK$180,000, and he also wanted to cover the HK$280,000 bail for a “friend” of his. The victim transferred HK$460,000 to the same bank account later that day.
Chan said that the “nephew” again came up with various reasons he needed money on Saturday and asked for another HK$500,000. The victim again attempted to transfer the money to him, but the bank clerk stopped the transaction and warned of probable deception. The victim eventually realised he had been scammed, and after consulting with his family members and reaching his actual nephew, he reported the case to the police later that day.
Meanwhile, a student from the mainland who is in her twenties received a message from a “female friend” on Sunday on Weibo asking her to buy a plane ticket that a man was selling. The victim then contacted the man and transferred 27,600 yuan (30,800 patacas) to a mainland bank account.
According to Chan, the man told her later that day that the economy class seats were sold out and she needed to pay 28,600 yuan more to upgrade to business class. The victim spoke to her “friend” on Weibo and her friend requested she make the payment, after which the victim attempted to borrow money from another friend for the transaction but was warned by her friend that she was probably being scammed.
Chan said that after reaching her actual friend, the victim reported the case to the police later that day.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference.
– Photo: William Chan
