HK scams hit monthly high as phone fraud overtakes online shopping, Joe Chow says 

Fraud cases in Hong Kong have hit a record monthly high this year, with phone scams overtaking online shopping fraud as the most severe category of deception, Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said.

Chow emphasized that fraud is a critical challenge to the city's law and order, as Hong Kong recorded over 34,000 deception cases involving total financial losses of HK$6.02 billion in the first three quarters of this year.

Fraud accounts for more than half of all overall crimes in the city at 51 percent, marking a year-on-year increase in both case numbers and financial losses.

Chow highlighted that telephone scams, which became the most prevalent category,  account for one-third of all cases, with nearly 10,000 reports.

This was followed by online shopping scams ranking second, with nearly 8,000 cases making up 23 percent of the total.

University students remain primary targets for syndicates, as Chow revealed that in the first three quarters, 1,970 cases involved local and mainland university students, resulting in HK$230 million in losses. 

Furthermore, elderly victims accounted for over 30 percent of all telephone scam cases. In fake-official phone scams targeting seniors, the average loss per person reached as high as HK$2.32 million.

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