Hong Kong police have arrested seven people in a crackdown on a fraud syndicate accused of cheating 13 loan applicants, including a businessman and a professional, out of nearly HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) in four months. The force said on Friday the syndicate members posed as bank employees and cold-called their targets to offer loans with low interest rates between February and May.
The applicants were then referred to a financial intermediary company and arranged to meet scammers in an office, where they were coaxed into making advance payments to secure the loans, according to Senior Inspector Chan King-lok of the Wan Chai district crime squad. “[Fraudsters] invented various excuses such as surety, asset verification, the need to settle the victims’ existing debts or improving their credit ratings and lured the victims into making advance payments,” Chan said. “Some victims who could not afford these upfront payments were lured into borrowing money from finance companies or even mortgaging their own properties.
” According to police, the syndicate recruited people to set up a financial intermediary company, rent an office in Causeway Bay, open bank accounts and register SIM cards to collect money and make calls. The senior inspector said these fraudsters made the victims wait patiently for updates to cover their tracks while escaping. “By the time the victims discovered they had been swindled, the scammers had already vanished,” Chan said, adding the fraudsters even cleaned the premises to destroy evidence before leaving.
He said the victims fell prey to the scams mainly due to “personal financial needs, such as difficulties in company finance and supporting children studying overseas”. Chan said the victims included a businessman, blue-collar workers and retirees. “The highest loss suffered by an individual victim amounted to HK$1.
9 million,” he said. Detectives launched an investigation into the syndicate last month after the victims did not receive the money they wanted to borrow and found the office had been vacated. After checking surveillance camera footage to gather evidence, officers arrested six men and one woman in a series of raids across the city on Wednesday and Thursday.
During the arrest operation, code-named “Hazeriver”, police seized mobile phones, related documents, bank cards and valuables that included luxury handbags and jewellery. Chan said the arrestees included two key figures of the syndicate, the registered owner of the company involved, holders of stooge accounts and registered owners of SIM cards. The seven were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud – an offence punishable by up to 14 years in jail and a HK$5 million fine.
Police urged other victims to contact the Wan Chai district crime squad at 6921 2160. Chief Inspector Shun Po-chun reminded residents not to readily believe the claims of unexpected callers and advised them to proactively contact the relevant banks or institutions to verify the caller’s identity and authenticity. As of Friday afternoon, the two alleged core members were still being held for questioning.
The others had been released on bail pending further investigation. Police said further arrests were not ruled out as the investigation was still under way..
