A local woman was defrauded of more than HK$250,000 after falling victim to an online mooncake voucher scam, prompting police to issue an urgent warning over a spike in e-commerce fraud ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The scam unfolded when the victim, who was attempting to sell mooncake vouchers online, was contacted by a fraudster who directed her to a bogus trading platform.
Posing as customer service representatives, the fraudsters instructed the woman to transfer funds to three unknown personal bank accounts, claiming the transactions were necessary for account verification and promising that the full amount would be refunded shortly afterward. The woman complied, transferring more than HK$250,000 before realizing she had been scammed when the funds were not returned.
Police reported that online shopping scams have escalated significantly in the run-up to the festive period. Over the past week alone, authorities received more than 250 reports of e-commerce fraud, with total financial losses approaching HK$5 million.
Investigators noted that fraudulent schemes involving mooncake coupons have been diversifying across digital channels. In several recent instances, social media posts appeared claiming to offer large quantities of surplus mooncake vouchers for free, prompting alert netizens to post warnings about potential traps. Police emphasized that both buyers and sellers must exercise heightened vigilance during holiday transactions.
The force’s CyberDefender platform reminded the public to thoroughly verify the authenticity of online merchants prior to making purchases and to inspect account histories and past transaction feedback on second-hand trading platforms.
Authorities cautioned that any request demanding money transfers for account verification or authentication is almost certainly a scam.
Citizens were also advised never to click on unverified links or access unfamiliar trading portals, and to carefully cross-check transaction and payment records even when conducting trades face-to-face.
