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Danny Mok

Police on Wednesday arrested five people in a crackdown on a suspected online auction scam that might have pocketed as much as HK$50 million from some 50,000 members.
The arrests of the group, including a man and four women aged 50 to 59, were made when officers from the Commercial Crime Bureau swooped on a number of residences in Kowloon and the New Territories on Wednesday morning.
The members of the group were arrested for conspiracy to defraud and were detained overnight.
Police officers also raided two offices of the online auction company at New Mandarin Plaza on Science Museum Road in Tsim Sha Tsui on Wednesday, seizing computers and documents for investigation.
Police said they had received complaints from 17 people between April to October in 2014 about an online auction investment scheme run by a local firm since early 2013.
Investors were invited to pay at least HK$10,000 to buy points on the online platform so that they could make retail purchases with prices lower than market rates.
The items on sale included watches, mobile phones and handbags.
Online auction users were also urged to use a certain number of points daily to earn cash rewards. Referring more people to the scheme also rewarded members with extra cash. The rewards were to be deposited into the members’ accounts, the firm promised.
However, some victims of the alleged fraud told police that while they did successfully retrieve small amounts of cash at the beginning, applications for cash withdrawals had been rejected by the firm since April. The online auction company put forward several excuses for this, including cash shortages.
After the seventeen victims approached police, it was believed that about HK$4 million in funds were involved in the alleged scam, but police now think that as much as HK$50 million may have been involved from the estimated 50,000 members joining the auction site.
Police believed the firm managed by the arrested man had allegedly conned the clients using the model of a pyramid scheme.
Police are urging anyone who has been cheated in a similar way to contact them on 2860 5012. Write quote


Police arrest five over suspected online auction scam netting up to HK$50 million

Police officers raid the offices of the online auction company at New Mandarin Plaza in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: SCMP Pictures

News

Hong Kong

Police on Wednesday arrested five people in a crackdown on a suspected online auction scam that might have pocketed as much as HK$50 million from some 50,000 members.
