A 45-year-old woman has been charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud in a case involving six alleged debt-restructuring scams and about HK$4.9 million. She appeared at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on 12 November.
Police initially received reports from three victims, then linked the woman to three more cases. The largest reported individual loss was about HK$2.8 million. Police were investigating whether further accomplices were involved.
The three victims who reported the initial cases told police they received calls between April and August from people claiming to work for banks and offering to arrange debt restructuring. Between June and November, they met someone claiming to work for an accounting firm and handed over cash for the service.
Some meetings took place at shared offices in Mong Kok and Cheung Sha Wan. Police also said the woman arranged cash handovers in streets or shopping centres. The victims found that their debts had not been restructured.
Police said they believed that about HK$1 million in cash recovered from the woman was proceeds of the alleged fraud.
Police advised people who receive calls from purported bank or accounting-firm staff to verify the caller's identity directly with the institution. They also advised checking an intermediary's identity with the Companies Registry and considering applying directly to a bank or reputable finance company. People with concerns can call the police's 24-hour anti-scam hotline on 18222.