A private detective agency in Tsim Sha Tsui reached an verbal agreement with a customer who intends to find relatives, promising that if the relatives cannot be recovered after the investigation, there will be a refund service.
However, after half a year, the victim has not received the relevant investigation results or refunds, and turned to a voluntary agency to find relatives within two months. Suspected of being deceived, he reported to the customs.
Customs today (23) arrested the 37-year-old male proprietor of the detective agency in a case involving a private detective agency suspected of violating the Trade Descriptions Ordinance while providing tracing services.
Customs today (23rd) arrested the male proprietor of the detective agency in a case involving a private detective agency suspected of violating the Trade Descriptions Ordinance while providing tracing services.
(Photo by Cai Zhengbang)
The Customs received a report in May this year. Some victims said that they had contacted a detective agency through an online search in early January this year, hoping to use the tracing service to find relatives who have been separated for many years.
When the detective agency sold to the victim, it verbally claimed that if no relatives were found, a refund would be arranged. The victim would pay thousands of yuan for the service fee to the detective agency and purchase a tracing service to find relatives.
As of July this year, the victim still has not received the investigation results from the detective agency, nor has he received the so-called refund, suspecting fraud.
After receiving the report, the customs launched an in-depth investigation and identified the proprietor of the detective agency involved as the mastermind of the case.
The Customs arrived at the detective agency’s business address on the 17th floor of Newport Center, Tsim Sha Tsui this morning (23) and arrested a 37-year-old man suspected of violating the Trade Description Ordinance. The case is still under investigation.
It is understood that the detective agency has been in operation for several years, has a business registration, rents a serviced office in Tsim Sha Tsui, and advertises on the Internet, and its footprint can be seen in the search engine.
The Customs pointed out that there are voluntary agencies in Hong Kong that provide free tracing services, and the public can seek assistance from these agencies.
It is understood that the victims of the case later switched to voluntary agencies to provide free tracing services, and within two months they successfully recovered relatives who had been separated for more than 20 years.
The customs appeals that citizens should patronize reputable merchants when purchasing investigation services, and make more comparisons. If the background and charges of the merchants are suspicious, they should make more inquiries. If they suspect that the merchants violated the Trade Description Regulations, they should report to the customs. , Call the 24-hour hotline (2545 6182).
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