"Online dating scams" have soared in Hong Kong this year, and the Hong Kong police conduct cross-border arrests
[Global Times reporter Yang Weimin] Under the epidemic, Hong Kong online dating scams are on the rise.
For this purpose, the Hong Kong police, together with Interpol and the Royal Malaysian Police, carried out a cross-border arrest operation code-named "Step" to combat online romance scams.
According to Hong Kong Sing Tao Daily reported on the 1st, Hong Kong Police Cyber Security and Technology Crime Investigation Division Chief Inspector Zhang Weihao said that the police successfully detected a fraud group active in Southeast Asia in this "stride" operation. Police in both places A total of 8 men and 19 women, aged between 20 and 66, were arrested. They were involved in 37 cases and approximately HK$15 million in losses.
Among them, the Malaysian police arrested 7 Nigerian individuals for fraud and overstaying. The investigation also revealed that they were remotely controlling multiple Hong Kong puppet bank accounts for money laundering activities.
Hong Kong police arrested a total of 3 men and 17 women in Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories, and seized 10 mobile phones and a batch of bank cards and bank documents involved in the case for further investigation.
Due to the epidemic, citizens’ daily life is transferred to the Internet, and online dating is becoming more and more popular.
Statistics from the Hong Kong police in the first 10 months of this year showed that a total of 1,369 online dating scams were discovered, an increase of more than 80% over the same period last year, and the loss amounted to 480 million Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 2.7 times over the same period last year.
The scammer’s method of committing crimes is generally to get to know the victim through online social platforms, then use sweet words to establish an online relationship, and then use different excuses to ask for money, including the need for capital turnover, suggesting the victim to invest, and having gifts to give to the victim but need The victim pays customs clearance fees first.
The victim who suffered the most damage was a 29-year-old investment manager who was defrauded of 1.8 million Hong Kong dollars.
Data released by the Hong Kong police in September also showed that 85% of victims of online dating scams are women, aged between 17 and 70, with the most being 30-39 years old, accounting for 27%; and the most popular profession by scammers Civilian workers accounted for 15%, housewives accounted for 8%, and unemployed 7%.
Scammers generally pretend to be soldiers, pilots, and oil tycoons. The top fraud excuses are "sent gifts and are detained by customs", accounting for 39.8%, investment accounting for 34.6%, and turnover problems accounting for 25.6%.
In January this year, Hong Kong woman Yvonne suffered a scam.
She had a lively chat online with a man who claimed to be the operation manager of an oil drilling company in South America. The other party agreed to fly to Hong Kong to see her, but before flying to Hong Kong, he needed money to buy the necessary parts.
Yvonne happily transferred HK$40,000 to this "boyfriend", and it didn't take long for the other party to ask for another remittance on the grounds that his daughter had an accident and needed to raise money for surgery.
Yvonne then suddenly realized.
The British BBC website analyzes that the epidemic has increased the risk of deception. Affected by it, remote work has become more and more common. Many people feel lonely and eager to communicate with others.
A Hong Kong dating and relationship consultant analyzed that, “The epidemic is a great opportunity for crooks. They can tell each other that they are in isolation or in another city, so they cannot meet each other. (Victims) cannot be as easy as before. Expose them".
Chen Lishen, assistant professor of research on gender and sex at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, believes that Hong Kong women are encouraged to be financially independent and have their own careers, but who she should date and when to marry is still largely affected by cultural influences, including dealing with traditional families. The pressure of forced marriage and the concerns of older age and difficulties in childbirth, "In order to meet this expectation, older women are more eager to develop relationships, and therefore are more vulnerable to emotional scams."