To enhance anti-scam awareness among Mainland tertiary students studying in Hong Kong, the Police Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC), the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LOCPG) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today (February 25) held a 'Beware of Scams! Join Us to Combat Deceptions' anti-deception seminar at the Jockey Club Auditorium of the PolyU. A total of 1,000 Mainland students from 14 tertiary institutions attended the seminar.
      
     The Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee, thanked LOCPG and PolyU for their support in making the seminar successful in his opening speech. He also pointed out that about 28,000 deception cases were reported in Hong Kong last year, involving a total amount of 4.8 billion dollar and accounting for 40% of the overall number of crimes. An increase of 45% in the number of deception cases was recorded when compared with 2021. It is worth noting that Mainland tertiary students studying in Hong Kong have repeatedly become the target of scammers. Some of the victims even suffered a loss of several million dollars.
      
     Mr Siu noted that the tertiary students attending the seminar would be appointed as 'Anti-Scam Ambassador' to assist the Police in disseminating anti-deception messages to their schoolmates and friends. He also announced that ADCC officially launched an account called 'Smart Hong Kong Drifters' (xhslink.com/AVqgBn) on Xiaohongshu today to widen the reach of anti-deception publicity, regularly publish the latest modus operandi, offer advice and heighten the public’s alertness to deception.
      
     Divided into three sessions, the seminar included (1) ADCC officers' elaboration on prevalent telephone deception tricks and a sharing by victims of telephone deception; (2) officers of the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) delivering the defrauding tricks and prevention advice of employment fraud and naked chat scam; (3) representatives of the Financial Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (FIIB) briefing on money laundering traps. Apart from the seminar, ADCC, CSTCB, FIIB, Public Relations Wing and Regional Crime Prevention Units set up booths to provide the tertiary students with consultation service and distribute anti-deception publicity materials.
      
     ADCC seeks to familiarise the Mainland tertiary students pursuing further studies in Hong Kong with anti-deception information through the seminar to increase their alertness and awareness against deception. It not only expands the anti-deception publicity coverage, but also elicits the students’ assistance in promoting the relevant messages to the public, thereby stepping up the efforts to combat deception.  

Ends/Saturday, February 25, 2023
Issued at HKT 20:05

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