Police said six local men aged 14 to 25 had been arrested in connection with three phone scams targeting women aged 79 to 89 who lived alone. The property taken was valued at about HK$270,000, according to police in Wong Tai Sin District.
Callers told the women that their sons had been arrested and needed bail money or legal fees. The victims were then directed to hand over cash or valuables to a collector.
A 14-year-old allegedly collected property in all three cases, passing the first two collections to a contact. At the third, at Mei Tung Estate, he allegedly ran off with HK$17,000 in cash and four gold items instead of handing them over.
Police said the third victim had not reported the incident and only realised she had been scammed when officers visited her. On November 5, police said the six men were expected to be charged with conspiracy to defraud and to appear in court the following morning.