University of Hong Kong student loses HK$9.2 million in phone scam
Insider says police have launched manhunt for two fraudsters over scam
A student at the University of Hong Kong has become the latest victim of a phone scam after she was cheated out of HK$9.2 million (US$1.1 million), the Post has learned.
A source said on Friday the 18-year-old mainland Chinese student fell victim to the scam and that police were searching for at least two fraudsters.
A fraudster posing as a worker of a mobile phone company called the teenager on November 27, claiming she was involved in a money laundering case on the mainland, the source said.
Another fraudster posing as a public security officer from Shanghai then told her to download the “Skype” app for monitoring purposes.
The victim was asked to make 14 money transfers to three designated accounts between December 2 and January 4 to prove she was innocent. Failing to contact the fraudsters after transferring HK$9.2 million in total, the student realised she had been scammed and reported the case to police.
The number of university students scammed by fraudsters posing as government officials or law enforcement personnel rose from a monthly average of 24 between July and September to 91 in October, according to police statistics.
