Police on Monday urged people to heighten their vigilance against online deception following approximately 170 reports of "naked chat" blackmail and compensated dating scams this year.

Writing on its CyberDefender Facebook page, the police said these scams had resulted in losses exceeding HK$4.5 million, with students accounting for roughly 30 percent of victims.

The force said most of the victims were lured into naked chats or persuaded to send nude photos and then coerced into paying money to prevent leakage of the images.

In other instances, officers said victims responded to offers of compensated dating – arrangements promising payment for companionship or sexual services – where they were then tricked into buying prepaid cards or transferring money as supposed "deposits," leading to significant financial losses.

Police strongly advised young people to exercise extreme caution when interacting with strangers online.

They emphasised the importance of never sharing personal or family details and refusing any requests for indiscriminate payments or deposits.