Hongkongers lose HK$220 million to customer service scams in August
Por Kristen Cheung — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Crime in Hong Kong Hong Kong Law and Crime Hongkongers lose HK$220 million to customer service scams in August
Scammers are taking real-time control of victims through direct calls or tricking them into installing malicious apps, police warn
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Kristen Cheung Published: 9:00am, 3 Oct 2026 Updated: 9:38am, 3 Oct 2026
Scams involving fraudsters posing as customer service officers caused losses of over HK$220 million (US$28.2 million) in August in Hong Kong, more than triple the monthly average in the first seven months of the year, police have said.
The police force also warned that scammers had shifted their modus operandi from using phishing links to taking real-time control of victims through direct calls and screen sharing, or tricking them into installing a malicious app that turned mobile phones into a credit card reader.
Hong Kong recorded 29,670 scam cases in the first eight months of 2026, up 4.5 per cent from 28,379 in the same period a year earlier, with losses rising by 3.8 per cent to HK$5.2 billion.
About 17 per cent, or around 5,000 cases, were customer service scams, which incurred total losses of nearly HK$700 million.
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