Phones at Beijing's liaison office have been ringing off the hook since fraudsters claiming to work there started conning Hongkongers
SAMUEL CHANsamuel.chan@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 28 July, 2015, 3:38am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 28 July, 2015, 3:38am
Earlier records from the police and liaison office showed Hongkongers had lost at least HK$7 million to such scammers in the last two months - with the office saying the figure was probably a huge underestimate because its staff had no time to attend to all the concerned callers. Photo: SCMP Pictures
The number of calls flooding Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong has risen to more than 10,000 over the past two weeks, as worried residents seek to verify whether the office has really contacted them to hand over money.
The scam, which police believe originates from outside Hong Kong, appears to be more widespread than initially reported, as an employee of the office said his colleagues often had no time to hear out the callers.
Investigators from the Kowloon East regional crime unit - which handles telephone scams - had made a trip to the mainland to seek help from the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, according to a police source close to the case.
"Our phones just keep ringing all day long," an official at the liaison office's "letters and visits" department, to which the calls were directed, told the South China Morning Post yesterday without giving his name.
The surge in calls followed a sharp rise in news coverage of fraudsters trying to scam locals by claiming to represent authorities, banks or courier providers on the mainland. The conmen spoke in Cantonese or Putonghua and used mostly voicemail to request money transfers.
Such phone scams had been around for some time, but the office only became embroiled in it about two months ago. On July 19, it sought help from Hong Kong police after receiving more than 2,400 calls from residents in two days.
"We are still getting more than 1,000 calls a day even after all the media reports," the official said.
As he spoke on the phone, non-stop ringing could be heard in the background, along with voices explaining, apparently over the phone, that mainland authorities would not use voicemail to contact Hongkongers.
Asked for the latest tally of how much callers had reported handing over to scammers, the official said: "We have lost count already; our staff simply have no time to go through the details."
Earlier records from the police and liaison office showed Hongkongers had lost at least HK$7 million to such scammers in the last two months - with the office saying the figure was probably a huge underestimate because its staff had no time to attend to all the concerned callers.
Yesterday was the first day since July 17 when callers did not report any monetary loss to the office, the official said.
Hong Kong police are expected to give an update on the situation tomorrow.
The Monetary Authority, meanwhile, said it would update the public today regarding purported bank employees calling people over alleged account irregularities. Major banks had reported receiving more than 2,000 inquiries from customers, the HKMA said last Tuesday.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1844075/hong-kong-residents-make-over-10000-calls-beijings-liaison
