8 Hongkongers cheated out of over HK$2 million in police impersonation scams

Eight Hongkongers were duped out of more than HK$2 million (US$257,380) after being tricked into paying cash to scammers impersonating police officers outside government buildings to avoid hefty fines over fabricated money-laundering charges.

Police said a man and a woman were arrested on Monday, adding that one of them was being accused of using fabricated Hong Kong police warrant cards and false letters from mainland Chinese authorities to trick victims into believing they had committed crimes across the border.

“To make the scenario more convincing, scammers instructed victims to bring tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of cash to locations outside courts or government buildings, where the money was handed to accomplices disguising themselves as police officers,” Sung said.

The eight cases, in which scammers pretended to be mainland law enforcement officials, happened between March 24 and Monday. The victims, aged between 22 and 83, lost HK$2.2 million in total.

Sung said the man, 23, was apprehended while taking cash from a victim. A fake police warrant card and forged letters from mainland police were found on him.

Officers also confiscated HK$310,000 in cash that a victim was about to hand over to the man.