Mainland Chinese student Zhang Li* was devastated after losing 200,000 yuan (US$25,734) in a phone scam in Hong Kong.
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The 24-year-old said she received a call last September, shortly after arriving in the city to pursue a master’s degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The caller initially claimed to be from the Immigration Department.
Her call was then transferred to another person posing as a mainland law enforcement officer after she explained that she did not speak Cantonese.
She was told that her Hong Kong mobile number had been used to disseminate false information and that her mainland identity details were linked to a bank account involved in laundering about 800,000 yuan.
Zhang said she was asked to join video calls with a person dressed as a law enforcement officer and was shown documents, including an alleged arrest warrant bearing her photo, as well as a website displaying images of supposed victims in her case.
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She was warned not to tell anyone, so she kept it from her parents and friends. She also isolated herself in a hotel room for about a week.