Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Elderly people in Hong Kong main targets as phone scams rise sharply, with victims losing HK$185 million in just five months

One woman borrowed heavily to pay HK$2.4 million to scammers posing as mainland officials. Wan Chai bank employee foiled attempt to get 80-year-old woman to open new online account

Fraudsters tricked more than 500 people in Hong Kong into parting with HK$185 million (US$23.9 million), keeping telephone scams on a sharply rising trend through the first five months of this year.

There were 532 cases from January to May, up from 207 over the same period last year, while the amount the tricksters made off with was more than triple the losses reported in the same period last year.

The surge in phone scams recorded by the police force’s Anti-deception Coordination Centre involved criminals getting people to reveal online banking passwords, identity card numbers and other personal details.

The elderly continued to be the most common targets. There were 255 victims aged over 60 in the first five months of this year, up from 84 in the same period last year.

Victims in this age group reported handing over nearly HK$100 million, with each person losing about HK$380,000 on average.

Among victims of all ages, 151 people lost HK$150 million in total after disclosing their personal data, including bank details. The scammers used this information to make withdrawals from the victims’ bank accounts or access their accounts through online banking to steal their money.

Phone fraudsters often pretend to be mainland police officers who accuse victims of breaking the law there, and demanding that they transfer funds to “clear their name”. Others pretend to be long-lost friends or relatives.

In a case reported to police in May, a 50-year-old woman claimed she was duped of HK$2.4 million after scammers posing as mainland officials called her last year and threatened her, saying she faced criminal charges across the border.

Last November, she began borrowing money from moneylenders to pay the scammers. Her family only realised what happened when debt collectors kept calling to make her repay her loans.

Police also received two complaints from people who received dubious calls from others pretending to be bank staff telling them that they had been unsuccessful in registering for the government’s HK$10,000 pandemic relief payout.

Police had warned earlier of scammers calling and offering to help people to register for the handout.

The chief inspector of the force’s Anti-deception Coordination Centre, Ngan Hoi-yan, advised bank staff and family members to be alert to elderly people suddenly applying for online banking accounts, as fraudsters usually harassed victims to transfer cash quickly.

In April, a Chiyu Bank employee became suspicious when an 80-year-old woman turned up to open an online banking account, accompanied by a woman claiming to be a relative.

Sum Ho-cheung, manager of the branch in Wan Chai, said the bank employee had her doubts after chatting with the elderly woman and probing the reasons she wanted to change her password and open a new account.

The employee then called the woman’s son, who was authorised to approve matters concerning her account, to verify that he had asked his mother to open an online account.

“The son said he had never heard of the ‘relative’ who was with his mother at the bank and confirmed that he did not ask his mother to reset the bank password or apply for online access,” Sum said. “We immediately froze the account based on the suspicious activity and reported it to police.”

The woman pretending to be the victim’s relative was arrested on June 12, and police investigations found she was involved in seven other cases related to phone scams.

Chief inspector Ngan said: “We really appreciate the professionalism and the level of concern shown by the bank staff in reporting the suspicious activity and helping us with the case.”

Chui Ting-yui, acting chief inspector of the regional crime unit in Kowloon East, said phone scammers were difficult to trace as they used fake numbers that were not registered under the Office of the Communications Authority.

Fraudsters calling from the mainland also use available technology to make it appear that they are using a Hong Kong phone with the +852 calling code.

He said: “We conduct regular information exchange with the Ministry of Public Security in Guangdong province and Macau’s Economic Crimes Investigation Department to tackle cross-border phone scams.”




Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×