Hong Kong woman loses HK$69 million in fake-official scam
SCMP · 1 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A Hong Kong woman has been cheated out of nearly HK$69 million in a month-long fraud in which callers pretended to be mainland Chinese officials and pressured her to send money . Police said the 43-year-old victim was told she had committed a crime and needed to pay to prove her innocence, eventually transferring about HK$68.9 million before reporting the case after becoming suspicious .
Key Points
- Police said the 43-year-old woman received calls from fraudsters claiming to be mainland law enforcement officers investigating her for an alleged crime .
- The scammers demanded money as supposed proof of innocence, a tactic commonly used in fake-official phone fraud cases in Hong Kong .
- The victim transferred about HK$68.9 million into designated bank accounts through multiple transactions between July 2 and August 1 .
- She contacted police on Wednesday after suspecting something was wrong, ending a scam that had lasted about one month .
- The Western district crime squad is handling the investigation, and police said no arrests had been made as of Friday .
Why It Matters
The case underscores how fake-official scams remain one of Hong Kong's most common forms of financial deception, even when the sums involved are extraordinarily large . Authorities also revealed last month that more than 40 mainland students in Hong Kong were duped by scammers impersonating Chinese law enforcement officers in the first quarter, with the biggest loss exceeding HK$8 million, suggesting the threat is persistent and wide-ranging .