More than 300 mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong were victims of phone scams last year with losses reaching HK$230 million (US$29.5 million), according to the city’s security chief who added that police had logged 16 such cases in January this year alone.

Advertisement

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Saturday that losses from the 16 cases this month had reached HK$20 million, while stressing that public awareness efforts such as talks and surveys could help students better identify suspicious situations.

“It’s going to be of big help even if they think [anti-scam publicity] is no big deal. When they received a call, they could recall the survey in which they learned that this could be a scam,” he said.

Some local universities had recently revealed that their students fell victim to scams, with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and City University requiring the completion of anti-scam questionnaires developed by the force and the varsities. HKU students who did not complete the quiz would risk losing access to certain campus facilities.

An 18-year-old HKU student from the mainland was also cheated out of HK$9.2 million last week, as fraudsters claimed that she was involved in a money-laundering case back home.

Advertisement

According to Tang, 318 cases were recorded of mainland students falling victim to phone scams last year, with most of the calls revolving around sham mainland law enforcement or government officials.

Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu has said many students overlook anti-scam campaigns. Photo: Elson Li
Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu has said many students overlook anti-scam campaigns. Photo: Elson Li