Following is a question by the Hon Duncan Chiu and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (October 8):
      
Question:
      
     It is reported that according to the latest figures from the Police, there were 327 telephone scam cases involving Mainland students last year, resulting in an aggregate loss exceeding $230 million. On average, each student victim was defrauded of over $700,000. Furthermore, a recent case involved a Hong Kong university student from the Mainland who is suspected to have suffered a financial loss after falling victim to a telephone scam involving the impersonation of government officials, before subsequently jumping to her death. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      
(1) of the following information regarding scam cases involving students in the first nine months of this year: (i) the number of telephone and cyber scam cases involving local, Mainland and overseas students, (ii) the total amount of money defrauded, along with the highest individual amount, and (iii) the main countries or regions of origin of the overseas students who fell victim to these scams;
      
(2) whether it has conducted an analysis of telephone and cyber scam cases involving students, including the deception tactics employed by fraudsters and the communication software or social networking platforms involved; if so, of the findings of such analysis and the countermeasures that the authorities will adopt, including whether they will work with local commercial entities, such as mobile network and social networking platform operators, to introduce enhanced measures to prevent students from falling victim to telephone and cyber scams and pitfalls; if so, the specific details;
      
(3) whether it will consult with various local universities and formulate effective measures to strengthen awareness of telephone and cyber scam prevention among local, Mainland and overseas students, including requiring students to attend designated seminars on scam prevention and pass relevant assessments upon admission; and
      
(4) whether the authorities have reviewed the current anti-scam promotional efforts and their effectiveness in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and universities, with a view to enhancing young people's awareness of and capability in scam prevention; whether the authorities have set specific targets to determine which anti-scam initiatives require further enhancement and updating, and formulated a timetable for implementing various enhancement measures?
        
Reply:
      
President,
      
     Deception is a serious crime. Any person who commits the offence of "fraud" under Section 16A of the Theft Ordinance (Cap. 210) is liable to imprisonment for up to 14 years, while any person charged with "obtaining property by deception" under Section 17 of the same Ordinance is liable to imprisonment for up to 10 years. In addition, any person charged with "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence" under Section 25 of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 455) for proceeds of deception is liable to maximum penalties of 14 years' imprisonment and a fine of $5 million.
      
     In consultation with the Education Bureau (EDB), the reply to the Member's question is as follows:
      
(1) According to the latest figures from the Police, there were a total of 28 379 scam cases, involving monetary loss of $5.02 billion, in the first eight months of 2025, which represent a decrease of 1 per cent and 14.5 per cent respectively when compared with the same period last year. Among them, there were 184 and 86 telephone scam cases involving local and Mainland students of tertiary institutions. The monetary losses incurred were approximately $32 million and $75 million respectively. The Police do not maintain statistical figures on the number of cyber scam cases involving students. Furthermore, as the Police do not observe an evident trend of scams targeting overseas students at this stage, a statistical breakdown is not maintained.
      
     The case with the highest amount of loss was a telephone scam in April 2025 involving impersonation of government officials, resulting in a loss of over $10 million. The victim, a 25-year-old university student from the Mainland, followed the instructions of fraudsters by making multiple deposits totalling $10.97 million into a number of designated local bank accounts during the period between April and July 2025. In July of the same year, the Police arrested two Mainland males, who were subsequently charged with three counts of money laundering.
      
(2) The Police have been analysing the latest trends and intelligence of telephone and cyber scams involving students, and have been regularly releasing the latest anti-scam messages. For example, the Police make use of press conferences, social media accounts of the Police and platforms such as the CyberDefender website to warn students and the public about the latest scam tactics.
      
     It has come to the Police's attention that recently many students have become victims of telephone scams involving fake food delivery platforms sending phishing SMS messages, instructing victims to call a fake "customer service" and then tricking them into paying "guarantee money" to cancel orders. As regards cyber scams, scam syndicates have been luring students into participating in fake "click farming" tasks through social media groups including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) of the Police has immediately stepped up dissemination of anti-scam alerts on websites and social media platforms, urging the public not to call back by clicking on the telephone numbers provided in the SMS messages. If in doubt, they should contact the official customer service centre of the food delivery platforms for verification. They are also encouraged to make good use of the Police's "Scameter+" and "Anti-Scam Helpline".
      
     To heighten the alertness of students and the public against telephone and online scams and pitfalls, the Police have been maintaining close communication and collaboration with telecommunications service providers (TSP) and social media platform operators. In particular, anti-scam promotional leaflets are distributed through TSPs. The promotional materials are updated from time to time, so as to remind members of the public to be watchful over the latest scam tactics. Should suspected fraudulent content be found, the Police will request the social media platforms concerned to immediately remove the content and take appropriate follow-up actions. From January to August of 2025, the platforms concerned have reviewed and removed over 67 000 items of fraudulent content at the request of the Police. In addition, the Police held a joint press conference with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp, in August 2025 to alert the public of the latest scam tactics involving messaging applications and social networking platforms. The public were also notified of the operators' anti-scam countermeasures, which include the strengthened use of artificial intelligence technology for detecting and removing fraudulent content and accounts.
      
(3) The EDB and the University Grants Committee have been encouraging tertiary institutions to promote anti-scam information to students through various channels and provide students with appropriate support. To raise the anti-scam awareness and vigilance of local, Mainland and overseas students, institutions have provided them with scam prevention and anti-scam information through channels such as seminars for parents, admission briefings, dedicated webpages and dedicated hotlines.
      
     Mainland students are more prone to become scam victims because they are unfamiliar with Hong Kong's systems, fraud situation and ways of seeking help. In this connection, the Commissioner of Police has earlier on sent a letter to the newly arrived students and their parents via all tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, urging them to pay particular attention to several common scam tactics and advising them of ways to guard against scams. They are also encouraged to make good use of the Police's "Anti-Scam Helpline" and "Scameter+". Earlier on, in collaboration with the National Immigration Administration, the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security and the Immigration Department of Hong Kong, the Police have produced anti-scam video clips showing the modus operandi of fraudsters. Starting from June 2025, the videos are broadcast across boundary control points, exit-entry service halls in the Mainland as well as social media platforms including Xiaohongshu and Douyin. The Police also collaborated with the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange to organise sharing sessions in the Mainland, sharing anti-scam knowledge with over 11 000 students coming to Hong Kong for studies and their parents. Furthermore, the Police have disseminated anti-scam information to students through activities and seminars organised jointly with Mainland students' groups in various institutions.
      
     The Police have also launched an online learning package. Local, Mainland and overseas students will have to learn about scam tactics and be given advice on countermeasures through the tutorials in the forms of texts, images and videos. They will then have to complete the multiple choice questions provided. Those who have passed the test will receive an e-certificate. To cope with the peak of scams involving students around the new academic year of 2025, the Police have launched an updated version of the online learning questionnaire in traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese and English, covering scam tactics such as telephone deception, investment fraud and employment fraud, as well as information provided by the ADCC of the Police. A number of institutions in Hong Kong have required local, Mainland and overseas students to complete the learning package or questionnaire within specified time frames in the new academic year in order to gain access to campus facilities (such as libraries and learning commons).
      
     Furthermore, the Police organised over 30 scam prevention educational seminars and activities around the start of the new academic year, which have attracted the participation of more than 4 000 local, Mainland and overseas students. The activities included stepping up promotion of the online learning package and arranging visits to tertiary institutions by the Quby themed anti-scam promotional truck to disseminate anti-scam messages to students and staff.
      
     The Police have collaborated with an institution to conduct a survey on the awareness of scam among university students. Of the 3 000-odd replies collected, it was found that nearly 85 per cent of the respondents had enrolled in the anti-scam online learning package. For students who had completed the learning package, the number who fell prey to scams and suffered monetary loss were 58 percentage points lower than those who had never enrolled in the learning package. The Police will continue to encourage the participation of local, Mainland and overseas students of tertiary institutions.
      
(4) In keeping with societal changes and technology development, the EDB continues to review and optimise the school curriculum. Learning elements relating to media and information literacy education as well as anti-scam awareness have been incorporated into primary and secondary school curricula. For example, Primary Humanities, Junior Secondary Citizenship, Economics and Society, and Senior Secondary Citizenship and Social Development have all included learning contents of information literacy, prudence in analysing the authenticity of information, handling of personal data, as well as guarding against cyber pitfalls and risks. This helps students to develop critical thinking and enhance their self protection awareness. In addition, the Information Literacy for Hong Kong Students, a learning framework provided to schools by the EDB, helps enrich the information literacy-related learning elements in the school curriculum, through which students are encouraged to use the Internet in a healthy manner, safeguard their personal privacy and equip themselves with fact checking skills, thereby enhancing their anti-scam awareness and ability.
      
     To deepen teachers' knowledge of technology crime information and data security, enabling them to guide students in the safe and proper use of Internet, the EDB continuously launches professional development programmes for teachers and supports the promotion of information literacy education in schools. The EDB also organises seminars for parents, helping them nurture their children's ethical use of innovative technology in their everyday life, such as properly protecting personal privacy and developing good habits in using information technology.
      
     To raise the awareness and capability of kindergarteners and young people of primary and secondary schools in scam prevention, the EDB and the Police have jointly designed teaching materials to enhance students' safety awareness in using new technology, which helps them avoid falling prey to scams. Among others, the Police have published the Youth Crime Prevention Booklet for four years in a row starting from 2022, offering a set of practical tools for teachers and parents to educate students about the common crimes and ways to deal with them.
      
     The Police have also published the educational comic booklets titled "The Dirty Money Trap" and "Black and White" for two consecutive years, explaining the money laundering pitfalls associated with "renting, borrowing and selling of bank accounts". A dedicated chapter titled "Tips for Teachers and Parents" is also featured, offering practical guidance to help teachers and parents identify signs of young people's involvement in such crimes. To keep parents informed of the latest modus operandi and trends of cyber pitfalls, the Police regularly publish "Letters to Parents" on the "CyberDefender" website. Using real-life examples, these letters explain high-risk cyber pitfalls that young people and children may encounter and offer advice to parents, hence enhancing their capability in recognising and coping with cyber pitfalls.
      
     In addition, the Police have introduced an anti-scam mascot "The Little Grape" since 2020 to explain the latest tactics of fraudsters and disseminate simple anti-scam messages in a friendly and interactive manner. Anti-scam information is also posted on different social media platforms using "The Little Grape" as the theme, such as "The Little Grape" Animation Picture book. Also, through offline interaction between "The Little Grape" and primary and secondary students, such as visits to primary and secondary schools by "The Little Grape" and the anti-scam promotional vehicle, anti-scam messages are conveyed to young people. A picture book named "The Little Grape and Me: Beware of fraudsters" targeting kindergarteners has also been released, with copies distributed to nearly 1 000 kindergartens across the territory with a view to cultivating anti-scam awareness in young children.
      
     Going forward, the Government will continue to collaborate with kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, tertiary institutions and stakeholders. Stakeholders' views are collected regularly through various channels to provide feedback on curriculum planning and implementation, with a view to strengthening students' awareness in scam prevention. In response to the advancing technology and evolving tactics of fraudsters, the Government will analyse the latest scam landscape and intelligence in an ongoing manner, and will review and adjust our anti-scam work as necessary.

Ends/Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:48

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