[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A 90-year-old grandmother in Hong Kong was scammed out of a huge sum amounting to 36.5 billion won through voice phishing.
On the 20th, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the grandmother fell victim to voice phishing by individuals impersonating mainland Chinese officials, resulting in a total fraud loss of 254.9 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 36.57 billion won).
The grandmother transferred money 11 times from August last year to January this year to three bank accounts controlled by the voice phishing gang.
The gang instructed her that her identity had been used in a serious crime in mainland China and that she needed to send money to designated accounts for investigation purposes.
During this process, a 19-year-old university student visited the grandmother’s home and connected her to other gang members via mobile phone calls.
The police arrested the university student last month and froze an account containing 9 million Hong Kong dollars (about 1.3 billion won). However, the rest of the money was taken by other gang members who disappeared.
The grandmother resides near Victoria Peak, the most affluent area in Hong Kong. This case is known as the largest voice phishing incident to have occurred in Hong Kong.
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