Hong Kong police chief suggests putting anti-scam slogans on coffee cups, napkins

Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-Yee on Saturday also warned residents to be wary of investment schemes promising high returns and low risks as they were often scams that were difficult to stop since perpetrators had already sent the money overseas by the time the victim realised they had been duped.

The city recorded 39,824 cases of fraud last year, resulting in about HK$9.18 billion (US$1.17 billion) in losses. Seventy per cent of the cases involved online scams, according to Siu. The number of cases accounted for 44 per cent of all crimes and marked a 43 per cent jump compared with 2022.

“In terms of pure numbers, most of the cases were related to online shopping, because shopping on the internet is so common nowadays,” he told a radio programme on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The police chief said the force had plans to raise scam awareness by including anti-fraud messages in the everyday lives of Hongkongers.

“We’re thinking about a lot of different ways right now. For example, we are currently in talks with some catering groups, since Hong Kong people love to go out and eat,” he said.

“Maybe we can put some slogans on napkins or on cups at coffee shops … We will show [anti-fraud messages] to you even if you don’t ask for them.”

Siu added investment scams also increased last year compared with 2022, accounting for nearly two-thirds, or HK$5.9 billion, of the total losses in 2023, with many highly-educated people falling for them.

“We see many victims … some are even CEOs of international companies or people with investment experience,” he said.

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“Oftentimes they see ads online that peddle investment opportunities that claim to have low risks and high returns, and the victims themselves take the initiative to reach out to the scammers.”

The commissioner explained that the scammers made themselves appear more legitimate by providing a platform for victims to monitor the performance of their so-called investments, with some even giving real initial payouts to lure people to double-down on their initial sum.

He gave the example of a woman who made initial “investments” of HK$50,000 and saw HK$10,000 in “returns” in her bank account the same day. The victim then proceeded to give the scammers HK$3 million.

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By the time victims discovered they were being scammed, it was often too late as the money would have already been sent overseas, making cases even harder to trace, Siu said.

Siu called on the public to make full use of the government’s anti-fraud tools, such as the round-the-clock 18222 “Anti-Scam Helpline” offering help in suspected deception cases, and the force’s “Scameter” app, which allows users to enter information such as phone numbers, email addresses, or web URLs for risk assessment.

Separately, Siu also said police would handle illegal parking on the streets based on discretion during the Lunar New Year holiday.

“But it won’t be a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said. “If illegal parking is found to be very serious and may even pose a danger, we will also take enforcement action. I hope everyone understands that it’s unfair to blame our colleagues for giving out parking tickets.”