A student at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) reportedly lost RMB710,000 (HKD801,747) after falling victim to a telephone scam over the weekend.
The student, a mainland Chinese woman surnamed Guo, received a phone call from a woman claiming to be an Immigration Department officer at around 10pm on Sunday, Oriental Daily reports.
The “officer” reportedly told Guo she was suspected of unspecified criminal offenses, and transferred the call to a man claiming to be a mainland Chinese law enforcement officer. Under his instruction, Guo made five transfers, totalling roughly RMB710,000, to a bank account.
Guo later reported the case to local police, after suspecting that she had been swindled. (Where was this skepticism before?)
A police investigation into the case, which is being treated as “using fraudulent means to obtain property”, is underway.
No arrests have been made so far.
