Sixteen-year-old among five arrested for HK$300,000 phishing scams

A 16-year-old teenager was among five people arrested in connection to 12 phishing scams valued at about HK$300,000. 

The arrests came between Tuesday and Wednesday as police found that victims had been receiving phishing messages that their membership points at telecommunications companies were about to expire or they could redeem gifts with those points. 

Victims then clicked into the phishing messages and entered their personal data and credit card information, which was used by the arrestees to make purchases without the victims knowing. 

After in-depth investigation by New Territories South police, they arrested two men and three women aged 16 to 75. They were reportedly students, homemakers and jobless. 

During the operation, police also seized evidence including eight phones, a tablet and three notebook computers. 

Police said the investigation is ongoing and they may make more arrests. 

Police said in the first half of 2023, the New Territories South police region received 533 reports on phishing scams, marking a nine-fold jump from 49 cases during the same period of last year. 

The amount of losses also increased by 15 times to over HK$14 million. 

Police believe they have smashed the phishing syndicate for good. 

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