Online and phone scams lead to MOP157m loss in H1

In the first half of this year (H1), the growing number of online and phone scams resulted in the loss of over MOP157.2 million, the Judiciary Police (PJ) has said in response to an inquiry from the Times.

“In the first half of 2024, 188 cases of phone scams and 401 cases of internet fraud were recorded, representing an increase of 21% and 18%, respectively. Losses from phone scams exceeded MOP110 million, up more than 135% from the same period last year. Internet scams caused a loss of around MOP40 million, equating to a drop of 26% compared to the same period last year,” the PJ said.

The PJ also noted that in the same period, there were 26 reported cases of online extortion through “nude chat,” which led to nearly MOP340,000 thousand in losses – a drop of over 38% in reported cases and 11% financial losses year-on-year.

Credit card data theft also spiked in the first half of the year. According to PJ, the 263 cases reported in H1 caused losses of more than MOP6.86 million. This marked an increase of more than 59% in the number of cases and over 200% in the amounts lost year-on-year.

Among the various types of phone scams, the two most common involve individuals posing as employees of government entities (also known as the “Police, Prosecutor, or Court” scam) and the “Guess who am I?” scam. These two scams amount to 78% and 13% of total phone scams, respectively.

“It is worth mentioning that almost 44% of the victims of the “Police, Prosecutor and Court” scam are students, while almost 90% of the victims of the “Guess who am I?” scam are people over 60 years of age, which shows that both groups are easily targeted by scammers,” the PJ’s division for Community Policing and Public Relations remarked.

The PJ further warned that many online scams and other related crimes stem from phishing SMS messages, falsely claiming to be from telecommunications operators, banks, mobile payment platforms, and communication software, among others.

These fraudulent SMS links account for over 70% of all cases of credit card data theft.

The rise in online and phone scams has become a key concern, but was highlighted mid-last month when multiple officials, including the interim president of the Court of Final Appeal, Judge Song Man Lei, and the Public Prosecutor General, Ip Son Sang, described the topic as the most pressing matter to be resolved in their speeches at the opening of the new judiciary year.

Song described scams, particularly those carried out over the phone or the internet, as highly problematic, stressing their serious consequences for society.

She added that due to the cross-border nature of most telecommunications crimes, these crimes pose numerous difficulties to criminal investigation as they are difficult to trace to the criminal associations behind them.

Ip also echoed these concerns, stating that despite several attempts to crack down on such crimes, fraud cases continue to proliferate.

The same topic was also aired on more than one occasion by the Chief Executive-elect, Sam Hou Fai, during his election campaign speeches, who noted that it is expected that the judiciary authorities and the government will present additional measures to tackle the problem.