Seven people were arrested after police raided a rented industrial unit in Kwun Tong where a phone-scam centre was still being prepared, police said. Police initially believed the centre had not formally begun operating and that nobody had been victimised.
The planned callers would pose as law-enforcement officers, accuse people of crimes and demand that they transfer money to specified accounts to prove their innocence, according to the police investigation.
Police said recruitment began in early October and the unit was rented for a short period. Officers raided it on the morning of October 21, finding four men and two women. They seized phones, phone cards, bank cards that did not belong to people present and scripts for impersonating officials. Police later arrested a woman described as the ringleader. All seven were suspected of conspiracy to defraud and detained for investigation.
A police inspector warned that law-enforcement officers would not demand money transfers, cash or bank passwords as proof of innocence.