Beware of Scammers Impersonating Staff of Centre for Health Protection and Law Enforcement Officers
2022-03-03
Defrauding Tricks
Recently, victims received unknown calls with the prefix “+86”. The caller, speaking in Putonghua, impersonated staff of the Centre for Health Protection and was able to tell the identity card number of the victims. The caller claimed that the victims smuggled a batch of vaccines into Hong Kong from mainland China, which violated the laws on the mainland.
The calls were then forwarded to another scammer posing as a mainland public security officer. The scammer showed his identity document on WhatsApp, sent the hyperlink 172.80.90.163/login and asked the victims to click on the link to input their online banking account numbers and passwords.
The victims followed the instructions and found that their savings accounts were emptied soon afterwards.
Our Advice
Even if the scammers are able to tell your personal information, send you their law enforcement credentials or warrants with your photo, it does not necessarily mean that they are genuine law enforcement officers. Scammers can obtain the personal information of the public through open access, security loopholes and even illegal sources;
Genuine law enforcement officers will not ask for your online banking account number or password through phone calls in investigation of cases;
Do not disclose your personal information to strangers, including your HKID number, address, online banking accounts and PIN codes;
Do not click on unknown hyperlinks or input any information;
Remind your relatives and friends to stay vigilant against deception;
- If in doubt, please call the “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222” for advice.