Phone Scam: Here’s How a Hong Kong Woman Lost $828,000 to Scammers

An 82-year-old woman in Hong Kong was scammed out of HK$6.5 million (US$828,000) by phone fraudsters posing as a local health officer and a mainland policeman.

According to a report from South China Morning Post, the elderly victim lives with her assistant in an extravagant apartment in West Kowloon. The 82-year-old woman realized she had been victimized by a Phone Scam when she found out that she had zero balance in her bank account. Consequently, she filed a police report on Tuesday.

The police stated Thursday that a fraudster impersonating a Department of Health staffer called the victim in June.

The Hong Kong phone scam victim was contacted by someone who said they were a mainland official and worked for public safety. The caller accused her of being engaged in a money-laundering case in Beijing, according to a law enforcement source.

An insider revealed the victim was compelled to provide her bank account data, such as passwords, for "investigative purposes." She was also instructed not to disclose information to third parties, such as her relatives, or she would violate confidentiality laws.

According to his report, between June and December last year, the woman made 11 withdrawals totaling around HK$6.5 million.

Long after the Hong Kong phone scam callers stopped contacting her, the old woman discovered last week that her bank account had been emptied.

In the first eight months of this year, police dealt with 1,257 phone scammers, more than twice the 657 Phone Scam incidents reported during the same time last year, albeit overall cash losses decreased from HK$640 million (US$81.5 million) to HK$550 million (US$70 million).

Scammers Take Advantage of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Senior Superintendent Eileen Chung says that almost 60 percent of the frauds that have been caught involved people pretending to be government workers.

According to the police official, since February, fraudsters have been posing as representatives of the Department of Health or the Centre for Health Protection.

She said they claimed victims tested positive for COVID-19 or violated related regulations while requesting personal data, bank accounts, and passwords.

Senior Superintendent Chung said that the scammers "fully understand" the "psychological weaknesses" of people because of anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Crooks take advantage of this to scam victims, per Hong Kong Free Press.

According to Chung, the police resolved 386 cases in a week between August 21 and Sunday, with 173 people between 13 and 72 years old being detained on suspicion of theft, money laundering, or other financial crimes. The officer said that some of the suspects had ties to organized crime.

How To Avoid Phone Scams?

Scammers who call possible victims may try to steal their identities or their money. Some fraudsters threaten jail time or litigation if you don't pay them a certain amount.

Authorities advise the public to be vigilant for suspicious texts, voicemails, or phone calls and resist the urge to rush into anything to avoid Phone Scams.

According to USA.gov, if the caller initiates by asking, "Can you hear me?" don't respond. Scammers frequently use this strategy to capture your "yes" response. The "yes" you respond with is recorded and then used to charge your credit card or make a transaction without your knowledge.

Moreover, don't give up your financial or other sensitive information over the phone. And do not comply with requests to pay via wire transfer or pre-paid debit card.