Police say scam cases targeting mainland students down from last year
發佈日期: 2025-07-14 21:08
TVB News
The police said the number of phone scams targeting mainlanders in Hong Kong and their associated financial losses showed a declining trend in the first five months of this year. But the most severe case still incurred a loss of close to 10 million dollars.
In recent years, fraudsters have exploited mainland newcomers' unfamiliarity with Hong Kong to scam them out of money.
In the first five months of this year, the police said there were 2,574 phone scam cases, with 49 involving university students from the mainland, down 40 percent compared to last year.
The money involved fell by 40 percent from 81 million dollars to 44 million dollars. The police attributed the decline to anti-deception publicity efforts.
Still, the largest single scam case involving a mainland student resulted in a loss of 9.2 million dollars.
"She (the victim) fell prey to a scam, phone scam again, pretending to be a Chinese official and she believed in that," said Wong Chi-man, chief inspector, Anti-Deception Coordination Centre, Commercial Crime Bureau. "Again, she refused to release any information to any of her relatives and her friends or classmates."
Senior Inspector Wong Chi-man said the victim was a first-year university student. She only realised it was a scam after making huge transfers for several months.
Fan Kin-chung of the Immigration Department warned against fraudulent visa agencies that promise "certain approval" or offer to forge documents for visa applications.
"Actually in processing each application, the Immigration Department will examine whether the applicants meet the specific criteria, the eligibility criteria, under the relevant admission scheme and normal immigration requirements," said Fan. "This is to ensure that only applicants meeting the relevant immigration policies will be admitted into Hong Kong for employment or stay."
As the new academic year approaches, Hong Kong police have teamed up with mainland authorities to strengthen anti-deception measures targeting mainland students studying in Hong Kong.
Since last year, the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre has opened accounts on Xiaohongshu, Chinese Tiktok, and other platforms popular among mainland students, posting educational videos about common scam tactics every week.
