Thirteen people have been arrested over an alleged triad-controlled phone scam syndicate that is suspected to have defrauded victims in at least 20 cases of more than HK$1 million.

Wu Siu-siu, chief inspector in the organised crime and triad bureau, said on Friday officers raided an industrial building in Kwai Chung on Thursday and arrested 12 men and a woman aged between 21 and 49 across Hong Kong.

She said the group operated in a highly structured way that saw core members run the scam centre and make the calls while the others recruited more people to provide bank accounts and phone cards.

"During the operation, the police seized more than 40 tablets and mobile phones, multiple phone cards and tens of thousands of dollars in cash," Wu said.

"The seized computers also showed personal data had been collected from more than 2,000 people.

"The syndicate had obtained the victims' information randomly or illegally and then pretended to be staff members of a finance company when calling the victims to ask them to transfer arrears to a designated bank account.

"During the calls, syndicate members were able to provide the victims' names, addresses and ID numbers and even details of their debts."

After victims had made the transfers, the callers demanded additional payments by citing handling fees or issuing threats.

Wu said some of those arrested had tried to discard evidence by destroying their mobile phones during the arrest.

Officers urged the public to be on the alert that calls that they receive might be scams and not to give away their personal information easily.


Edited by Tony Sabine