Hong Kong police have arrested more than 680 people in a series of recent operations targeting deception and money laundering, with suspected criminal proceeds reaching HK$620 million.
In one operation, officers from the cybersecurity and technology crime bureau focused on combating the misuse of bank accounts. Between February and September last year, police received reports from 51 victims of unauthorised transfers from their online bank accounts, ranging from HK$400 (US$50) to HK$10,000, with losses hitting HK$650,000.
Investigations showed the victims’ online banking usernames and passwords were identical to their email credentials, which had previously been leaked online.
Police believed crime syndicates exploited this leaked data to access accounts and transfer funds into stooge accounts. Officers identified two individuals controlling these accounts and several account holders. These accounts processed about HK$72 million in suspected illicit funds.
Over the past several weeks, police arrested 10 people – four men and six women – aged between 18 and 67.
In a separate operation conducted on January 17 and 18, officers dismantled a local romance scam syndicate and a criminal group engaged in laundering money through virtual currencies.
