A local elderly woman has fallen victim to a “fake police” phone scam and lost over HK$1.5 million, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Chong, the victim received a call on October 14, in which a man claimed that he was a “mainland police officer”. The scammer made preposterous allegations, claiming that a significant number of fraudulent messages had been sent from the victim’s mainland phone number.
Chong did not reveal the victim’s exact age.
After complying with the scammers’ instructions, the victim transferred a sum of HK$1.55 million to several Hong Kong bank accounts in various remittances, following the scammer’s claim that the transfers were needed for an “asset review”. It was only during a conversation with her family later about the case that she came to the realise that she had fallen victim to a scam. Subsequently, she reported the case to the police.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: William Chan
