The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), in collaboration with the Police forces from nine countries and regions, including Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Macao Special Administrative Region, Malaysia, the Maldives, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, conducted a joint operation through the Cross-Border Anti-Scam Collaboration Platform “FRONTIER+” from March 10 to May 7. The operation aimed to combat the increasingly rampant cross-border fraud and money laundering activities, achieving significant results.

     During the nearly two-month long operation, over 3 200 law enforcement officers from the 10 countries and regions were deployed, successfully identifying and dismantling multiple cross-border scam syndicates. In total, 3 018 individuals (aged between 13 and 85) were arrested, involving over 138 000 scam cases, including online shopping scams, employment scams, investment scams, and telephone deceptions (such as government official impersonation scams and “guess who” scams), with a total loss amounting to US$752 million. A total of 101 989 bank accounts were frozen, effectively disrupting criminal cash flows and intercepting approximately US$161 million in fraudulent funds. Enforcement details of the countries and regions are set out in the Annex.

     The HKPF arrested 870 individuals, aged between 13 and 83, across 742 cases mainly involving online shopping fraud, telephone deception, investment fraud and employment fraud. The Force also successfully intercepted about HK$539 million in criminal proceeds. 

     The case with the largest loss amount in the joint operation involved a messaging application account takeover scam that occurred in April. A Singaporean victim company was defrauded of US$36 million, with the funds subsequently remitted to multiple bank accounts located locally and in Hong Kong. Approximately half of the defrauded amount was converted into stablecoins and dispersed across multiple cryptocurrency wallets. Following joint investigations and fund-tracing by the Police forces of the two places, a total of US$20 million was successfully intercepted.

     Investigation revealed a rise in the use of virtual asset platforms by fraud syndicates for money laundering. It is therefore imperative for every country and region to continue to enhance the capabilities in combating virtual asset-related crimes through intelligence sharing and collaborative frameworks.

     By strengthening real-time intelligence analysis and sharing, co-ordinating actions and conducting cross-border joint operations from time to time, members of the Cross-border Anti-Scam Collaboration Platform “FRONTIER+” stand united against scams, cyber-related crimes, and money laundering. The platform will expand its network by inviting more countries and regions to join in order to enhance enforcement efficiency.

     Members of the public are urged to remain vigilant when conducting financial transactions, especially those involving virtual assets or unfamiliar transfer requests. If in doubt, the public is advised to verify suspicious information or websites using “Scameter” on CyberDefender’s website (cyberdefender.hk/en-us/scameter/), or the mobile app “Scameter+”; or to call the 24-hour “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222” for enquiries.

Ends/Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:04

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