Over 1,400 people convicted of deception-related offences in past five years

The Security Bureau said over 12,000 people were arrested for deception-related offenses in the five years between 2018 and 2022, including 4,112 arrests made last year, while 1,404 people have been convicted over the years.

The statistics came after lawmakers questioned authorities' efforts in dealing with the significant increase in the number of deception cases in Hong Kong in recent years. 

In a written response to lawmakers, Acting Secretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip said the Police, the HKMA, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Customs and Excise Department have established a financial intelligence exchange platform - the Fraud and Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce in 2017.

He said the number of retail banks participating in the taskforce will increase to 28 by end-June 2023.

Cheuk said the taskforce holds regular meetings and exchanges intelligence on deception and money laundering activities, with the taskforce providing training to the banking sector on the identification of suspicious bank transactions and victims of suspected deception cases.

“Since the Taskforce's establishment, banks have identified over 21,000 previously unknown mule accounts through sharing information and applying data analytics, and taken prompt actions in support of law enforcement investigations,” he said, adding that a Stop-Payment Mechanism set up with the banking sector since the establishment of the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre has successfully intercepted nearly HK$1.3 billion in 2022, minimizing losses to victims.

Meanwhile, commenting on the real-name registration drive for SIM cards, Cheuk said since the full implementation of the program on February 24 this year, the Office of Communications Authority has been carrying out a series of monitoring and enforcement actions to ensure the effective implementation of the program and that telecommunications operators have implemented it in compliance with the law and the guidelines.

“The OFCA has requested telecommunications operators to continue to enhance the registration platforms taking into account the operational experiences since the implementation of the [program], and to conduct regular sample checks on the registration information…If any suspicious cases are identified, telecommunications operators will promptly refer them to the law enforcement agencies for follow-up actions,” said Cheuk.