More than 40 mainland students studying in Hong Kong fell victim to scammers impersonating Chinese law enforcement officers in the first quarter of this year, police said on Sunday, with the biggest case involving over HK$8 million (US$1.02 million).
Among the 42 cases, one victim was tricked into staging her own “abduction” after being lured to Thailand, despite having attended anti-scam courses at her university.
Hong Kong police said students from across the border accounted for a quarter of the 164 reports involving scammers posing as mainland authorities in the first three months of 2026, with total losses amounting to HK$289 million.
The largest student case involved a 22-year-old man who was cheated out of HK$8.21 million by a scammer posing as a mainland police officer and accusing him of being connected to a fraud case.
The fraudster demanded that he hand over funds as proof of his innocence.
He deposited the money into six bank accounts before the scammer cut contact with him.
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