Watch out for scam calls purportedly from ADCC

2021-05-13

The Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) would like to remind members of the public to guard against incoming calls pretending to be from ADCC, through which scammers attempt to obtain your personal information, bank account details and money by deception.

Recently, the Police have received public enquires about scam calls whose numbers start with “+852” and end with “18222” (+852 XXX1 8222). There are a wide variety of defrauding tricks, for example, impersonating staff of ADCC, courier companies, telecommunications companies, banks, Immigration Department and genetic testing companies. Eventually, the calls are forwarded to fraudsters impersonating Mainland law enforcement officers, who claim that the victims have violated the laws on the Mainland and request for their bank account numbers and PIN codes for investigation.

The Office of the Communications Authority stipulates that telephone operators are required to insert a “+” sign in the calling number display of mobile phones as a prefix for all incoming calls originating from outside Hong Kong. If you receive an unknown call with the prefix “+852”, it is a scam call pretending to be from a local number.

ADCC will neither call local residents using phone numbers with the prefix “+852” nor request for your bank account numbers and PIN codes. If you receive suspected fraudulent calls, you should stay alert. If in doubt, please call the “Anti Scam Helpline 18222” for advice.