Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lou Chan Fai said during a regular press conference yesterday that eight victims had been scammed out of a total of 2.5 million patacas between them in fake police scams.
The victims comprise four non-local females aged under 30, two local men under 30, a middle-aged local woman, and an elderly woman. Lou did not disclose the nationality of the non-local victims or provide the exact age of the victims.
According to Lou, the victims received phone calls from individuals claiming to be staff members of “China Telecom” and mainland police officers and prosecutors. These calls occurred between October and early this month. The callers made preposterous allegations, claiming that a significant number of fraudulent messages had been sent from the victims’ respective mainland phone numbers.
Subsequently, the victims followed the scammers’ instructions and transferred money to designated bank accounts for an “asset review” process. The four non-local victims lost 36,000 yuan (40,700 patacas), HK$416,000, HK$550,000 and 1 million yuan respectively. The two local men lost 49,700 patacas and approximately HK$220,000. Additionally, the middle-aged woman lost 201,000 patacas, while the elderly woman lost 53,500 patacas.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lou Chan Fai looks on during a regular press conference yesterday.
– Photo: William Chan
