Three most common types of goods involved in such scams are concert tickets, electronics and food and drink
Hong Kong police have arrested 118 people in a citywide crackdown on online shopping scams involving losses of more than HK$5 million (US$636,940), largely linked to concert ticket sales amid a boom in the city’s live music scene.
One of the cases involved a victim selling a clothes iron who was swindled out of HK$1 million.
The arrested comprised 82 men and 36 women, aged between 18 and 74, who were linked to 120 online shopping scam cases, according to the cyber security and technology crime bureau’s Superintendent Ko Tik. The cases involved 321 victims, with total reported losses exceeding HK$5.2 million.
Last year, police received 44,480 fraud reports involving HK$9.15 billion in losses, with online shopping scams accounting for about 42 per cent of cases.
“This rising trend continues into 2025, with 3,076 online shopping scam cases recorded in the first quarter, a 30 per cent increase compared with the same period last year,” he said.
Between January and May, police requested that social media platforms remove more than 33,900 suspected scammer accounts and pages.
