Some fraudulent groups pretended to be sellers on online social platforms, sold different goods, and defrauded 20 victims of money, which amounted to 600,000 yuan.
Among the victims are lawyers and insurance consultants.
After investigating, the police launched an operation the day before (20th) and arrested the masterminds of a fraud group of 2 men and 1 woman.
The Acting Chief Inspector of the First Team of the New Territories South Region Crime Squad, Wong Wai-man, pointed out that from August last year to August this year, fraudulent groups pretended to be sellers on different online social platforms and sold different goods, including masks, moon cakes, and babies. Supplies and brand-name handbags, etc., also claim to provide RMB and Hong Kong dollar exchange services.
When the victim expresses interest, the scammer will provide different online payment methods for the victim to pay.
But after receiving the money from the victim, the scammer will lose contact.
The members of the fraud group involved generally did not meet with the victim. Only when the scammer claimed to provide renminbi and Hong Kong dollar exchange services, the scammer came out to meet at the victim's insistence.
During the meeting, the victim transferred the money to the account designated by the scammer according to the instructions of the scammer; the scammer also asked his party to deposit a "blank check" to the victim's bank account.
When the victim checked the online bank account, he found that there was an extra amount of money in the book balance. He mistakenly believed that the transaction was successful. How did he know that he was "bounced" by the bank and could not successfully collect the money.
In order to increase the difficulty of tracing and disguise the identity, the fraud group will switch accounts, phone numbers and collection accounts of multiple social platforms within a short period of time.
The 20 fraud cases occurred in Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories. The victims included 18 women and 2 men (18 to 56 years old), and their occupations included students, housewives, lawyers and insurance consultants.
The total loss of the victims was as high as 600,000 yuan, and the single loss ranged from 300 yuan to 280,000 yuan.
After investigation, the New Territories South Regional Crime Squad arrested 2 men and 1 woman (27-41 years old) the day before yesterday (20th). They were the main brains and were responsible for planning the entire scam. They would also pretend to be sellers and collect payments in person.
During the operation, detectives seized telephones, computers, bank cards and bank documents, etc. The investigation is still ongoing, and it is not ruled out that more people will be arrested.
The police emphasized that anyone who participates in an online fraud case has the opportunity to commit the crime of "acquiring property by deception" and can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
The police appealed that online shopping is closely related to the public. The criminal tactics of these 20 scams are very common, but many people still take it lightly, especially when scammers use empty cheques to deposit funds to the victim’s account. Although the account balance has increased, but It will take one to two days to cash out.
When the bank finds a problem, the money will be deducted and the victim will suffer losses.
According to the police, it is best for citizens to trade face-to-face and settle in cash. If they find something suspicious, they can call the Hong Kong Police "Anti-Scam" 24-hour hotline 18222.
01News
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