Hong Kong police launch cunning syndicate offering ‘poverty alleviation’ to ensnare elderly victims

“We believe the bank accounts (identified in the operation) have not yet been used for any illegal activity,” the insider said.

He said the syndicate was believed to be run by three suspected triad members, who recruited five older women to hunt for victims.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that the five were paid HK$500 to HK$1,500 to find a target,” the source said.

According to police, the syndicate has been distributing flyers with the message “Good news for poverty alleviation, donations given” to elderly residents of the Kowloon West area, in districts such as Sham Shui Po and Yau Ma Tei, for the past two months.

“Victims were told that kind-hearted individuals were willing to donate money to alleviate poverty, offering HK$1,500 to people over 65,” the source said.

He said the victims were told to take ID cards and proof of address to an apartment on Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei to collect the fake “donations”.

After collecting their documents at the premises, syndicate members told victims to have their pictures taken with mobile phones. But their faces were in fact used to bypass the facial recognition security tests required to set up bank accounts.

According to police, each victim was given HK$1,500 as promised before leaving the premises.

The plot came to light when two victims filed a complaint with police last Friday.

After gathering evidence, detectives from the Kowloon West Regional Crime Unit arrested three men and five elderly women in a series of raids across the city on Tuesday.

The three men, who were the alleged leader and core members with a background in the triad, were arrested on Tuesday night at an apartment on Shanghai Street.

According to the source, there were two other elderly people in the apartment at the time of the raid, but they were potential victims who were lured into opening bank accounts.

From the apartment, police seized approximately HK$50,000 in cash, 28 mobile phones, bank details and proof of address of the victims, as well as flyers advertising the fraud.

Police arrested the three men and five women on suspicion of conspiracy to launder illegal money, a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison and a fine of HK$5 million.

As of Thursday afternoon, all suspects were still in custody for questioning.

Acting Chief Inspector Wu Wing-ka of the Kowloon West Regional Crime Unit urged the public to remain vigilant and educate older relatives about the dangers of sharing personal information, especially in exchange for seemingly easy money.

Another source said criminal gangs are coming up with new tactics to target potential victims as police in recent years have taken a tougher line on people who sell or lend personal bank accounts to launder money.

Latest police figures show the number of criminal account holders arrested for money laundering offences rose to 4,465 in the first half of 2024, compared to 977 in the same period in 2021.

Stooge account holders are individuals who lend or sell their bank accounts to syndicates to collect scam money and launder the proceeds of crime in exchange for thousands of Hong Kong dollars.