A 90-Year-Woman From Hong Kong Was Conned Out 2 Crores By Fraudsters
I grew up reading Sidney Sheldon novels. My all time favourite is If Tomorrow Comes. It’s a beautiful love story between two con artists. Although, I don’t love the book because of the romance. I love it because of the ingenious con’s the two protagonists pull off. Watching a good con unfold is so extremely gripping. Well, not when it happens in real life though. Which happens a lot. Then it’s just terrifying. Take a look at this woman from Hong Kong who lost a whopping amount of money in a telephone scam. We have to be very careful since this could happen to any one of us.
A 90-year-old woman from Hong Kong was conned out of HK$250 million (Rs 2,40,11,69,600) by people posing as Chinese officials. It’s the largest scam recorded by Hong Kong. It’s not uncommon for elderly people, who are wealthy, in Hong Kong to be targetted by fraudsters. According to reports, the victim lived in a mansion on The Peak, one of Hong Kong’s most stylish neighbourhoods.
It all started last summer when the accused called this 90-year-old woman posing as Chinese public security officials. They told her that her identity was had been used in a serious criminal case in Mainland China. These fraudsters then asked her to transfer money into their account for safekeeping and scrutiny. Ah, what an irony.
A 90-year-old Hong Kong woman has been conned out of $32 million by fraudsters posing as Chinese officials, police said, in the city's biggest recorded phone scam. https://t.co/s29xTgtJwU
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) April 21, 2021
Also Read: This Bengaluru Woman Was Conned Out Of Rs 1.6 Lakh When She Tried To Order Wine Online
Several days after this phone call, a person arrived at her house to hand her a dedicated mobile phone and SIM card to communicate with the fake security agents. They persuaded this elderly woman to make a total of 11 transactions over five months. All in all, the woman was conned out of a total of HK$250 million. Woah!
This crime only came to the forefront because the woman’s domestic helper got suspicious of all the transactions she was making. She contacted the woman’s daughter who alerted the officials of the con. After an investigation, a 19-year-old was arrested for this fraud. According to local reports, this is the same person who went to the woman’s house to drop off the phone. This was the largest scam that happened over the phone in Hong Kong.
It’s important, in today’s day and age, to be exceedingly cautious of your money. Don’t divulge your personal information to anyone over the phone, no matter who they claim to be. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
