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Police have neutralised a cross-border deception syndicate and arrested a man. The syndicate was suspected to be in connection with a series of cross-border telephone deception cases in which the amount being deceived reached $23 million.
A 55-year-old female Mainlander received a phone call from a person who claimed himself to be an officer from Public Security Bureau, alleging her bank account was misused for illegal purposes and instructed her to transfer the savings to specific bank accounts. The victim then transferred RMB 70,000 into those accounts and later found herself being deceived.
The victim made a report to Chongqing Public Security Bureau and Hong Kong Police in May and the case was handed over to Police's Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB). Joint investigations by CCB and Chongqing Public Security Bureau revealed that suspects transferred the money from victims to a number of bank accounts and subsequently withdrew the money from the Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) in Hong Kong.
Officers of CCB arrested a 31-year-old man in a flat in Yau Ma Tei on September 23 and seized three sets of computer, 11 mobile phones, 160 electronic security tokens, 157 ATM cards, eight counterfeit Hong Kong Identity Cards and six counterfeit China Re-Entry Permits.
The man was arrested for 'Conspiracy to Defraud' and 'Dealing with Property Known or Believed to Represent Proceeds of an Indictable Offence'. He will be charged later and appear at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts on Monday (September 27).
Police believed the deception syndicate had been neutralised.
Police will maintain close liaison with the Mainland and overseas enforcement agencies and banking authorities in order to combat against telephone deceptions.
Police remind the public to be vigilant on anonymous phone call and not to follow strangers' instructions to bank in money into suspicious bank accounts. They should also report to Police immediately when in doubt.
Add Police Report No.5
Issued by PPRB
Ends/Saturday, September 25, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:47
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