Police on Monday said they had made three arrests over reports of people being robbed or conned out of money after being persuaded to play a game of Chinese chess in the street.

Two elderly people allegedly lost almost HK$10,000 between them on two separate occasions last week, in Wan Chai and Hung Hom.

Three people from the mainland, aged between 49 and 65, were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, pickpocketing and snatching.

Senior police inspector Chan King-lok said a criminal gang has been carrying out such crimes in the city since February.

"Apart from cases involving Chinese chess game, they have also pretended to be monks and priests, targeting elderly people on the street, offering prayer and fortune-telling services, and selling amulets," he said.

Chan warned people to be on the alert for street deception, saying such scams have become more common recently.