Hong Kong taxi driver saves 81-year-old woman from ‘guess-who-I-am’ phone scam after overhearing plot by passengers
- Driver hears two swindlers planning to trick victim and watches incident take place, before calling police who apprehend the duo
- Between January and September this year, police handled 780 cases of ‘guess-who-I-am’ phone deception with losses totalling HK$58 million
A Hong Kong taxi driver who overheard a conversation between his two passengers about their plan to cheat an 81-year-old woman has helped foil a scam attempt, leading to the pair’s arrest in the latest of a string of “guess-who-I-am” phone deception cases.
Police on Friday said the 39-year-old driver learned of the ruse through a conversation he heard between the two suspects while taking them to a bus stop in Sau Mau Ping on Wednesday afternoon.
After the two men left the taxi, the elderly victim arrived and handed over HK$7,000 (US$899) to one of them. The driver, who remained at the location, witnessed the transaction and called police.
He followed the pair in his vehicle as they walked away, before officers arrived and arrested the two suspects.
Acting Chief Inspector Lo Yip-wai of Sau Mau Ping Police Station said the two men were detained on suspicion of obtaining property by deception – an offence punishable by up to 10 years in jail under the Theft Ordinance. He added that the money had been recovered.
He said the investigation revealed that the elderly woman, who lived in Tuen Mun, earlier received a call from another man who had impersonated her relative.
“The caller claimed he was her grandson, saying he had been arrested by police and needed bail money for his release,” Lo said.
The woman was instructed to go to the Sau Mau Ping bus stop to hand over the money to someone there.
