Hong Kong police arrest six in phone scam investigation

Hong Kong police have arrested six people connected to a phone scam gang. The suspects are accused of cheating at least 12 victims out of around HK$520,000 since November. Officers made the arrests during raids on Friday and Saturday. The group included three domestic helpers and ranged in age from 23 to 44 years old. Police are investigating claims that the scammers pretended to be school officials to trick janitors into transferring money. Many victims, including employees in customer service and security, only discovered the fraud after contacting the actual headmasters or teachers. One security guard lost HK$130,000 after receiving a call from someone posing as a senior executive. Police have warned the public against lending or selling their bank accounts, as this could lead to severe legal consequences. The maximum penalty for aiding scammers can be a HK$5 million fine and up to 14 years in prison. In 2024, Hong Kong saw a rise in crime, with deception cases increasing by over 11% from the previous year.