HK cops crack US$32.2mil phone scam case

HONG KONG: Hong Kong police said they recently cracked a telephone fraud case involving a 90-year-old woman defrauded of about US$32.2mil (RM132mil).

This is the biggest ever single phone scam loss reported in Hong Kong, according to local media.

The victim received a phone call from a swindler who claimed to be an official in August last year.

Then she made 11 transactions totalling about HK$250mil (US$32.2mil) as instructed from August last year to January this year, according to the police.

The victim’s daughter later realised that her mother had been cheated and reported it to the police.

On March 25, the police arrested a 19-year-old man suspected to be involved in the case in Tin Shui Wai of the New Territories.

The police said the case is still under investigation and they did not rule out that more people will be arrested.