Hong Kong police have arrested a 19-year-old university student accused of swindling more than HK$3 million from a man after apparently being hoodwinked by scammers herself.
Inspector Wu Kwan-yu of Tseung Kwan O police district’s intelligence section said on Wednesday that officers arrested the female student the previous day on suspicion of impersonating mainland Chinese public security officials and swindling more than HK$3 million from a local man.
“Police urge youngsters to stay vigilant and avoid falling into scams. They should avoid being exploited or recruited by criminals due to their greed or misplaced trust,” Wu said.
According to a source, the student said scammers had called her and accused her of being involved in money-laundering operations on the mainland and demanded that she follow their instructions to prove her innocence.
“The arrestee later received instructions from the scammers to head to a hotel in Tseung Kwan O and hand over a non-disclosure agreement to the victim,” the source said, referring to a local man.
Whether the student had profited from or lost money during her encounters with other scammers remained under investigation.
