Photo courtesy of Jelly Tse via SCMP

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal 

A Hong Kong master’s student was swept into an international scam that cost her over HK$500,000 (approximately 2.2 million baht) and led her to an alarming detour to Thailand. This unprecedented case pushed Hong Kong police to seek Interpol’s help, marking the first time a victim was lured overseas.

 

The victim, identified as K, a 22 year old student from Yunnan, China, recounted how scammers impersonated mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials, accusing her of money laundering.

 

“The sham public security official and I talked on the phone for eight hours, leaving no room for me to think,” she revealed, recalling how the fraudsters even wore official uniforms during video calls.

 

Believing her bank accounts were frozen and fearing worse repercussions, K travelled to Guangzhou to pay 500,000 yuan in “caution money.” The scammers then instructed her to flee to Thailand for safety.

The nightmare deepened when the fraudsters contacted K’s parents, claiming she had been kidnapped in Bangkok. They demanded a ransom of 10 million yuan (46.9 million baht), prompting her parents to alert Hong Kong police.

 

In a high-stakes operation, Hong Kong police worked with Interpol, Thai police, and the Chinese embassy to locate K, who had been instructed to move between hotels in Bangkok. She was found three days later, shaken but safe, reported South China Morning Post.

 

Superintendent Theodora Lee of Hong Kong’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre warned, “Law enforcement officials will never demand bank transfers or tell you to cut off contact with your family. These are classic scam tactics.”

 

This case highlights a sharp rise in university student scams, with losses in 2024 already exceeding HK$1.42 billion, more than double the previous year. As students navigate new cities and academic pressures, scammers exploit their vulnerabilities.

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2024-12-14

 

 

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1 hour ago, webfact said:

A Hong Kong master’s student was swept into an international scam that cost her over HK$500,000 (approximately 2.2 million baht) and led her to an alarming detour to Thailand.

Thailand, the HUB of Scams ................LOL

32 minutes ago, Geoffggi said:

Thailand, the HUB of Scams ................LOL

Aseannow, the hub of people who have trouble comprehending what they read. Or, perhaps, are unable to read?

As China has an authoritarian regime and questioning the police is taboo, this kind of scam works well. Quite incredible really.

 

Then again, once the scammer has instilled a complete sense of panic in the victim, anything is possible.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

“The sham public security official and I talked on the phone for eight hours, leaving no room for me to think,” she revealed, recalling how the fraudsters even wore official uniforms during video calls.

Hang up the bloody phone.

If it's real they'll come collect you.

3 hours ago, malathione said:

Aseannow, the hub of people who have trouble comprehending what they read. Or, perhaps, are unable to read?

Are you?

1 minute ago, KireB said:

Are you?

Apparently to a greater degree than the poster I replied to. Not so sure about you, however.

36 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Hang up the bloody phone.

If it's real they'll come collect you.

 

Easy to say when we come from civilised countries.

I would do the same.

But we are talking about victims in China and in many cases Thailand where you are dragged up from an early age and told to obey.

Do not question.

Do not argue back.

Just do as you are told.

These types of scams would be impossible if Chinese citizens had a modicum of trust in the Chinese authorities and were confident that they would follow the legal process.

 

What they tell us is that corruption and malpractice are so common in China that Chinese citizens believe without hesitations they can be targeted with entirely made up accuses, have no recourse against them, and have to bend to any extortionary request advanced by those in position of authority.

 

Xi Jimping's far-reaching anti-corruption campaign is nothing, but a purge directed against political rivals and has had no impact on the daily life of ordinary Chinese citizens.

 

5 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

These types of scams would be impossible if Chinese citizens had a modicum of trust in the Chinese authorities and were confident that they would follow the legal process.

 

What they tell us is that corruption and malpractice are so common in China that Chinese citizens believe without hesitations they can be targeted with entirely made up accuses, have no recourse against them, and have to bend to any extortionary request advanced by those in position of authority.

 

Xi Jimping's far-reaching anti-corruption campaign is nothing, but a purge directed against political rivals and has had no impact on the daily life of ordinary Chinese citizens.

 

 

Yes, and the campaign has been going on, now, for just over a decade.

 

I was there when they began cracking down on expensive banquets for CCP members, and gov officials.

The restaurants were having a real hard time.

 

10 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

These types of scams would be impossible if Chinese citizens had a modicum of trust in the Chinese authorities and were confident that they would follow the legal process.

 

What they tell us is that corruption and malpractice are so common in China that Chinese citizens believe without hesitations they can be targeted with entirely made up accuses, have no recourse against them, and have to bend to any extortionary request advanced by those in position of authority.

 

Xi Jimping's far-reaching anti-corruption campaign is nothing, but a purge directed against political rivals and has had no impact on the daily life of ordinary Chinese citizens.

 

Nonsense. This kind of scam, is the most common scam here in Malaysia. Hundreds fell for it each year. Many victims simply believed that they were in serious trouble and that the callers were real policemen.

4 hours ago, Selatan said:

Nonsense. This kind of scam, is the most common scam here in Malaysia. Hundreds fell for it each year. Many victims simply believed that they were in serious trouble and that the callers were real policemen.

From speaking to Malaysians, they have even less trust in their police than the Chinese.

Cant be scammed if you dont answer the phone, is what i got from this

4 hours ago, Briggsy said:

From speaking to Malaysians, they have even less trust in their police than the Chinese.

Singaporeans have no trust in their police too?

 

Scam victims in Singapore lost S$385.6 million in first half of 2024 as number of cases hits high of 26,587

 

Quote

In 86 per cent of the cases, the scammers did not gain control of the victims’ accounts but had manipulated them into transferring money to the criminals.

 

At the media briefing, Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said these figures are worrying.

 

She said: “There are a large number of scam cases which are attributed to self-effected transfers from victims, and this is concerning. Because this shows many of the victims were actually socially manipulated into transferring their monies into scam accounts.”

 

Sun said of particular concern were investment and government official impersonation scams.

 

2 hours ago, Selatan said:

Singaporeans have no trust in their police too?

Another authoritarian state, "benign dictatorship" and all that.

2 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Another authoritarian state, "benign dictatorship" and all that.

Nothing to do with any country. It's all about psychology.

 

The Psychological Trick Scammers Rely on and How to Protect Yourself

 

Quote

There's one simple and effective trick many scams rely on: emotional manipulation. “They use fear-based tactics to get us into our primitive brain, which is always on alert,” says Alex Melkumian, founder of the Financial Psychology Center.

 

Scams range from impersonations of federal offices or banks to AI voice cloning that impersonates a family member or friend to pretend romances. The situations scammers create often involve high pressure emotional stakes and tight deadlines—such as claiming a family member has been kidnapped and asking for ransom—which are meant to encourage the individual to spring into action and make choices they wouldn’t normally make. “The emotional part of the brain really just hijacks our ability to rationally think through the situation,” Melkumian says. “It’s no different from the bully on the schoolyard. There’s this immediate pressure to hand over your lunch and you feel like you have no outs, no exit to run away.”

 

@Selatan

 

You are right. The CCP is God's gift to the Chinese people. Long live Chairman Xi. The Chinese people are eternally grateful to the CCP for releasing them from their oppressed misery.

 

This has absolutely nothing to do with China or the Chinese Communist Party, the one-party state or authoritarianism, absolutely nothing.

 

Please report that back to your party handler.

Some people are not too bright, how the heck did she make it this far in life?!

This is just another variation on Darwin's weeding out the stupid from our gene pool.

31 minutes ago, CanadaSam said:

This is just another variation on Darwin's weeding out the stupid from our gene pool.

I think anybody can be scammed, although this one was a bit elaborate and many people would have smelled a rat well before they sent any money. 
 

Scammers try to catch people unawares, and then scare them into acting quickly, not giving them time to think.