The police detected 20 "Guess who I am" phone scams targeting the elderly between December last year and February 2 this year, defrauding a total of 1.5 million yuan; Yi's money laundering group arrested 7 local men, aged between 17 and 49, and found a total value of about 5 million yuan in criminal proceeds in a commercial unit in Tsim Sha Tsui rented by the money laundering group, including 15 dogs worth About 4 million luxury watches and 1 million yuan in cash.
The police operation is still continuing, and more arrests cannot be ruled out.
According to the police, the number of "Guess who I am" scams targeting the elderly has increased significantly recently, calling on the younger generation to pay more attention to the elderly and remind them of the current common deception tactics.
The police detected 20 "Guess who I am" phone scams targeting the elderly, and seized criminal proceeds worth about HK$5 million in total, including 15 luxury watches worth about HK$4 million and cash of HK$1 million.
(Photo by Wang Yiyang)
The victims in the 20 cases were between 68 and 92 years old, and the largest case involved a sum of 270,000 yuan.
Wu Shaopeng, Senior Inspector of the Serious Crime Unit (1B) of the New Territories North Region, said that when the scammers contacted the victim for the first time, they always called the fixed-line phone at the victim's home. After the call was connected, they would first call the victim his parents or grandparents, etc. With greetings and concern, I then claimed to the victim that I had changed my new phone number, and asked the victim to write it down, and then called the victim on the same phone the next day, claiming that he was arrested for breaking the law and needed bail, or that he needed compensation for fighting or arguing with others, and said A friend will contact the victim to hand over the money.
Victims often pay scammers out of fear for the safety of their families.
It is understood that some of the victims lived with the impersonated family members, but because the scammers contacted the victims more than during the day, and most of the relevant family members had left home for work at that time, the victim was thus fooled.
The police uncovered 20 "Guess who I am" phone scams targeting the elderly. The scammers called the fixed-line phone of the elderly for the first time and pretended to be their family members. The owner's money.
(Photo by Wang Yiyang)
After intelligence analysis, investigation, and CCTV footage, the police determined the identity of the scammer and the modus operandi of the crime, and found that every time the scammer received money, he would go to a commercial unit in Tsim Sha Tsui, which he believed was used to handle the stolen money.
The police took action yesterday and today (2nd and 3rd) and arrested 7 local men aged 17 to 49, suspected of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. The three are the masterminds and backbones of the criminal proceeds group.
Each person reported as being unemployed, a student, a businessman or a bar clerk, etc., and some of them had a triad background.
The swindlers have a careful division of labor. Different people are responsible for driving, collecting money, and "watching the water". The youngest 17-year-old student is a member of a money laundering group and is mainly responsible for door-to-door collection of fraudulent money.
In addition to arresting 7 suspects, the police also searched the commercial premises in Tsim Sha Tsui involved in the case and seized 15 watches with a total value of 4 million yuan, 1 million yuan in cash and computers.
Chief Inspector Jiang Jiajun of the Regional Crime Squad (1) in New Territories North pointed out that most of the elder victims in the scams are not aware of the current methods of committing the crime, and the scammers usually call the elders during the day when the younger generation is not at home. The safety of the family is in danger, and they have fallen into a scam before checking.
He appealed to the younger generation to be more concerned about the elders at home, and to remind them of the current deception methods; if the elders receive calls claiming to be relatives and friends, especially if someone calls the family claiming to need financial assistance, they should remain calm, contact the relevant relatives and friends as soon as possible and call the police for help .
New Territories North Regional Crime Unit (1) Chief Inspector Jiang Jiajun (right) and New Territories North Regional Crime Unit (1B) Senior Inspector Wu Shaopeng (left) show the seized evidence.
(Photo by Wang Yiyang)
In addition, seeing that the number of victims of deception has been increasing in recent years, the Police have produced a "Support Booklet for Deception". Obtain the booklet from any police station or download it from the Crime Prevention Bureau website.
