Tseung Kwan O flat used as scam call hub
HK01 · 4 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Police said they raided a residential unit in Tseung Kwan O on October 9 and arrested a 24-year-old local man suspected of running a scam call operation from the flat. Investigators said the group used a modem pool, remotely controlled by software through a computer, to make more than 23,000 fraudulent calls in just over a week while posing as customer service staff from online shopping platforms.
Key Points
- Senior Inspector Liu Long-jun (廖朗鈞) of the Commercial Crime Bureau said officers seized SIM cards, a modem pool device, a computer, a tablet and four mobile phones from the flat.
- Police said the suspect had applied for a large number of SIM cards in a company name, and those newly registered numbers were linked to recent fake customer service scams.
- The scammers allegedly told victims their purchases had problems and refunds were needed, then demanded transfers for deposits, handling fees or supposed annual bank charges.
- Officers found the modem pool still operating during the raid, and said the system had been dialing local mobile numbers continuously from the residential unit.
- Police records showed one seized phone number was tied to a recent fake customer service case in which a victim lost more than HK$100,000.
Why It Matters
The case points to how ordinary residential flats and legitimately registered SIM cards can be used to scale up phone fraud quickly, making scam calls harder for the public to distinguish from genuine local numbers. Police said the arrest disrupted the operation in time to prevent more cases and urged residents to verify callers through official channels and use the Anti-Scam Helpline 18222 or the Scameter app when in doubt.