A 69-year-old retired woman reported to the police on Friday that she had been cheated out of HK$1.94 million in a phone scam last month, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Choi Ian Fai said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Choi, the victim told the police that she received a call last month from a man who claimed that he was from the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in the mainland. He told the victim that her bank account in the mainland was involved in commercial criminal transactions and requested the victim withdraw all her money and deposit the money into a newly opened account in a bank in Macau to avoid any suspicion.
The victim believed the caller and deposited HK$1.94 million into a new bank account on July 22. She also followed the man’s instructions and gave him her online banking password as well as phone banking password.
Choi said the victim discovered that her account balance was only HK$188 when she checked her account on Friday, while HK$1.94 million had vanished.
She realised that she had been defrauded and reported the case to the police. The Judiciary Police have asked the bank to provide them with the account information for the investigation to proceed.
The police urged the public not to believe that police officers would instruct them by phone to transfer money, in order to avoid falling victim to a phone scam. Residents are encouraged to call the PJ 24-hour hotline 993 or 2855 7777 (headquarters) or 2833 0099 (Taipa office) for assistance.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Choi Ian Fai poses during yesterday’s regular press conference. Photo: Camy Tam
