A young local woman has lost HK$242,000 (249,000 patacas) in a “fake police” scam, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Sio Keong said in a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Cheong, the PJ Anti-Fraud Coordination Centre received a report on June 10 from a bank in the northern district. The bank informed the police that an account had made multiple remittances through online banking with IPs from various locations. Suspecting that someone had fallen victim to a telecom scam, the bank reported the case to the police.
Cheong noted that a local woman had received a call in mid-May from someone claiming to be a “mainland police officer.” The “officer” alleged that she had committed a criminal offence and requested her cooperation in the investigation. Trusting the “officer,” the victim enabled screen sharing and provided her bank account information for a “fund review.”
It was only when the police informed the victim that all the HK$242,000 in her account had been transferred in multiple remittances that she realised she had been scammed.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Siu Keong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
