Man arrested after 23,000 bogus customer service scam calls in over a week

Hong Kong police have arrested a 24-year-old man over an alleged scam operation that made more than 23,000 fraudulent calls in over a week by impersonating e-commerce customer service representatives, with one victim losing more than HK$100,000 (US$12,741).

The force said on Sunday that the man was suspected of operating a call centre for a syndicate that posed as online shopping platform staff and tricked victims into transferring money for a variety of reasons.

Senior Inspector of the Commercial Crime Bureau Liu Long-kwan said the syndicate claimed there were problems with goods the victims had purchased and that they needed to be returned or refunded.

“These fraudsters would use various excuses, such as charging deposits or handling fees, or falsely claiming that the victims’ bank accounts would be charged a steep annual fee, to demand that victims transfer money into bank accounts they provided,” Liu said.

In a Friday operation, police raided a residential flat in Tseung Kwan O and arrested the man on suspicion of fraud.

Officers seized a large batch of SIM cards, a modem-pool device, four mobile phones, a computer and a tablet.

Liu said police believed the man had been using the unit as a hub for making fraudulent calls.

He added that the man had applied for a large number of SIM cards from telecommunications companies under a company name.

The newly registered phone numbers from these SIM cards were linked to recent telephone fraud cases in which scammers impersonated customer service staff of e-commerce companies to obtain money from victims.

Liu said the modem-pool device, which had made more than 23,000 automated calls to local phone numbers in over a week since it began operating, could be remotely controlled through a software programme installed on the computer found in the Tseung Kwan O flat.

He noted that one of the phone numbers among the seized SIM cards was linked to a recent customer service fraud case in which the victim lost more than HK$100,000.

The man is currently being detained for further investigation.

Liu said police urged the public to verify a caller’s identity if they received calls from unknown sources, and to remain vigilant if the caller asked for money.

He also reminded the public not to sell SIM cards registered in their own name to others, warning that they could face criminal liability if the cards were misused for fraud.