Beware of Bogus Solicitors Offering Assistance
2024-06-25
Recently, there are scam victims who read an advertisement page of a fraudulent law firm, falsely claiming that they could help recover victims’ losses, on the internet. The scam victims believed it and contacted the scammers for assistance.
Posing as solicitors, the scammers sent images of counterfeit practising certificates and business cards to victims via WhatsApp to gain their trust. They then sent counterfeit documents and images, falsely claiming that an investigation working group had been set up by senior police officers of the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) and instructing victims to contact bogus investigators through Telegram for case follow-up and keep it confidential. After that, the victims were repeatedly asked to transfer guarantee fees to specific bank accounts and suffered pecuniary loss once again.
Our Advice
Do not hastily believe the results shown at the top of search engine result pages;
Do not hastily believe any pages or advertisements claiming to assist in recovery of fraud losses;
Before seeking assistance from professionals, you are advised to find out their backgrounds and professional qualifications. You may search solicitors’ information on the website of the Law Society of Hong Kong;
Real officers of the ADCC will not contact members of the public through Telegram;
You may enter suspicious information on “Scameter” or “Scameter+”, the mobile app of “Scameter”, for security check;
If in doubt, please call the “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222” for enquiries.
