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Hong Kong police arrest two men over HK$500,000 phishing scam
Police said the suspects allegedly used 110 SIM cards and a modem pool from a rented hotel room to target victims in multiple delivery and online payment scams.
Hong Kong police have arrested two men suspected of running a phishing operation that police said conned victims out of more than HK$500,000, or about US$63,766, according to SCMP Economy.
The force said the men, aged 31 and 44, were arrested last Thursday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. Police alleged they were linked to recent scams in which fraudsters posed as delivery company staff to claim parcels were undelivered, or as employees of online payment platforms to claim victims needed to pay a fee to cancel an insurance plan they had mistakenly subscribed to.
Police said the victims were then directed to call a fake customer service hotline, after which fraudsters instructed them to transfer money to designated bank accounts using various pretexts.
In a statement carried by SCMP Economy, police said investigation found the suspects had bought a bulk of SIM cards with real name registration through different people. Officers also found a modem pool, nine mobile phones, and 110 SIM cards in a rented hotel room used as an operations center.