Scammers claim dog meat sales to enrage and trick victims into downloading malware: police

Police said the fraudsters targeted victims' personal details under the guise of selling dog meats by tricking or even enraging them into downloading fraud mobile apps to place orders or boycott them.

Officers said Monday that the scammers recently claimed to have dog meat for sale through two social media pages and set up a WhatsApp account for inquiries. They provide links for customers to download malicious mobile apps and enter their bank logins, passwords or PIN codes to pay for the small deposit.

Eleven fraud reports have been received since September, involving a total of HK$1.36 million, with one victim in his 60s being swindled out of HK$415,000. No arrests have been made so far, the police added.

There was no evidence of actual dog meat sales involved in the case. The spokesman said the scammers also attempted to draw public criticism and trick animal lovers into contacting the sellers.

As the app is only available on the Android system, other smartphone users were asked to pay a HK$30 deposit through the Faster Payment System while the recipient turned out to be Hong Kong Homeless Dog Shelter (HKHDS) as shown by the FPS ID. 

The animal concern group said their bank account was stolen and clarified that HKHDS has never been involved in any dog meat trade. It strongly condemned the malicious act and reserved the right to take legal action.

They added that they believe this case involved a transnational syndicate and have experience with overseas law enforcement organizations, not ruling out the possibility of enforcement actions.