Police arrest eight over fake customer service scam
Bastillepost · 4 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago7 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong police said they had broken up a suspected local telephone scam operation in Mong Kok and arrested eight people on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. Investigators said the group allegedly posed as customer service staff of a payment platform, told targets they had activated insurance services, and then sought renewal payments or transfers through a fake bank officer.
Key Points
- Officers from the Mong Kok district crime unit raided a residential flat in Mong Kok on Tuesday, 29 September, after intelligence-led investigation into a phone scam centre operating there.
- Police found three men and four women in the flat allegedly making scam calls, and seized multiple mobile phones, SIM cards and scripted fake customer service talking points.
- A 25-year-old local man believed to be the syndicate mastermind was later arrested in Lok Ma Chau on Wednesday, 30 September, bringing total arrests to eight.
- The seven other arrestees are local residents aged 19 to 35, with most said to be unemployed, and all are being held or charged over conspiracy to defraud.
- Police believe the group began operating on 28 September from a short-term rented flat and had already made more than 400 calls to local numbers.
- Senior Inspector Wong Wing-hang (黃穎珩) of the Mong Kok district regional crime unit said police had identified the operation through intelligence and moved in on Tuesday afternoon. According to the investigation, callers used purchased SIM cards and pretended to be customer service staff from a payment platform. They allegedly told members of the public that an insurance service had been activated on their accounts and that a fee was needed to renew the cover.
- If the recipient said they had never bought such a service, the call would then be transferred to a fake bank employee located elsewhere, who would continue the deception and try to obtain payment from the victim. Police said they were still verifying how many victims there were and how much money was involved.
- All eight suspects are due to appear at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Friday, 2 October.
Why It Matters
The case suggests scammers can set up short-lived call centres in ordinary residential flats and contact large numbers of Hong Kong residents within days, making early reporting and rapid police action critical. With police still checking victim numbers and losses, more affected residents may yet be identified as the investigation continues.