A young local man has lost HK$115,200 (118,600 patacas) in a concert ticket scam, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chao Teng Hin said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Chao, on June 18, the victim purchased a front-row ticket for HK$14,000 to a concert in Hong Kong on June 27 through Telegram. However, on June 24, the seller contacted him, claiming that the ticket price had risen, requesting an additional transfer of HK$6,000. After the additional transfer, the scammer did not provide the ticket but asked for another HK$6,000, raising the ticket price again. Trusting the scammer, the victim complied again and transferred the additional HK$6,000.
By June 27, after multiple transfers, the victim still had not received the concert ticket. The victim then requested a refund, but the scammer told him that he needed to recharge his MPay account and transfer additional funds to an Alipay account before any repayment could be processed.
Following the scammer’s instructions, the victim recharged his MPay account and transferred additional funds more than 30 times. Including the initial ticket purchase and the two additional fees, he transferred a total of HK$115,200.
Finally realising he had been scammed, the victim reported a total loss of HK$115,200 to the police on Sunday.
