Student loses over HK$500,000 to scammers posing as officials in Hong Kong

A master's student in Hong Kong lost over HK$500,000 to scammers posing as mainland officials. The fraudsters claimed she was under investigation for money laundering and instructed her to travel to Thailand. This incident marks the first time Hong Kong police have dealt with a victim pushed to go overseas. The number of university students targeted by such scams has increased significantly, from 24 cases in July to September to 91 in October. In total, there were 874 scam cases involving impersonation in the first ten months of this year, resulting in losses of HK$1.42 billion. Of these, 283 cases involved university students, primarily from mainland China.