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Two Hong Kong domestic helpers praised for foiling phone scams

Two Indonesian women receive praise from city police for their quick thinking

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There are at least 300,000 domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Photo: Imaginechina

Two Indonesian domestic helpers recently helped prevent their employers from falling for phone scams, thanks to their quick thinking and fluency in Cantonese. Their actions helped their bosses from potentially losing a combined HK$50,000.

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Indonesian domestic helper, Wiwik, was at the home of her 78-year-old employer on December 7, who had previously suffered a stroke, when her boss received a telephone call from a person claiming to be her son.

The “son” said he was in Shenzhen and gave his mother a new Hong Kong phone number for her to contact him, claiming he would be back in Hong Kong the next day.

The following day, her “son” called back and said he was being held by mainland police after he was caught with a prostitute. He said he needed 20,000 yuan (HK$22,394) to be released.

Wiwik, a fluent Cantonese speaker, overheard the conversation and realised something was amiss.

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“I knew [my employer’s] son was in Canada, so I sent him a WhatsApp [message] the next day,” she said.

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