Scammers get Hong Kong man, 74, to stay in hotels for a week, steal HK$16 million from him
Phone scammers arranged for an elderly Hong Kong resident to stay in hotels for a week to prevent him from contacting others and to give them enough time to steal HK$16 million (US$2 million) from his bank accounts, police have revealed.
The force said on Monday that the 74-year-old retiree only realised he had fallen victim to the con when officers found him in his hotel room last week.
On September 7, officers arrested a 19-year-old man who was accused of arranging the hotel stay for the victim, according to Inspector Chan Yiu-hei of the Eastern criminal investigation unit.
Chan said a preliminary investigation suggested the suspect may himself be a victim of another fraud case. The teenager claimed he was accused by a fraud syndicate of being involved in a criminal case in mainland China.
“He was allegedly told by the syndicate that he needed to carry out a secret mission to reduce his guilt and atone for his fault,” Chan said.