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Scammers have targeted Chinese medicine clinics by posing as care home managers and claiming to offer outreach acupuncture partnerships in an attempt to trick them into ordering electric wheelchairs, with several clinics reportedly receiving similar approaches.
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Chan Wai-ki, a doctor at a Chinese medicine clinic in Yuen Long, shared his experience on social media, saying his clinic received a WhatsApp message from a man claiming to be a manager at a care home who invited doctors to provide acupuncture services for elderly residents.
Chan said the request initially appeared genuine as the clinic had been seeking partnerships with care homes.
However, he became suspicious after the man provided vague information and only responded late at night. Chan also found the caller’s online activity and working hours unusual.
Before the scheduled visit, the man called and claimed the care home needed to buy carbon fiber electric wheelchairs for residents. He asked Chan to order the wheelchairs on behalf of the home, offering a commission of HK$300 per wheelchair.
Chan said he was not interested in the commission and declined the request, but the man repeatedly called to follow up.
Chan later contacted the care home directly and discovered there was no employee named “Lee” working there, confirming it was a scam.
After exposing the scam, Chan decided to test the caller by claiming he had found another supplier selling a wheelchair for HK$7,800 and asked him to make a payment. The caller hesitated and asked Chan to send more details.
Chan later found social media posts from a year ago describing an almost identical scam, in which fraudsters posed as care home representatives and asked businesses to order wheelchairs and rehabilitation equipment.
After sharing his experience online, Chan said many Chinese medicine clinics reported receiving similar messages. Although scammers used different phone numbers, profile pictures and addresses, the methods were largely the same.
No money was lost in the incident. Chan urged businesses to verify the identities of potential partners carefully and remain cautious when asked to make purchases or handle payments on behalf of others.
