The online sale of goods broke the money at any time
The scammers used the “big brother” sellers to distinguish between the “account balance” and “available balance” in the bank account and paid by short checks. Then delivery. The scammer committed 24 crimes in two months and defrauded him of more than 1.9 million yuan worth of goods, including diamonds, watches and designer handbags. The biggest sufferer was a diamond company, which lost a value of 830,000 yuan for a 1.8-card diamond. Police have been operating for several days, arresting seven members of the deception syndicate and recovering some stolen goods.
Five men and two women (aged 18 to 56) were arrested, including two group backbones, who were reported as businessmen, decorators and unemployed, all with criminal records
One of the 43-year-old arrested men has a gang background and is suspected of “obtaining property by deception”. Some are temporarily released on bail pending further investigation.
At 12:00 noon yesterday, officers from the severe case team took one of the suspects who reportedly worked as a cleaner and returned them to his apartment in Meiliang Building, Shek Kip Mei Village, where he left after about half an hour. It is reported that scammers use the social platform that sells goods to target the sellers who sell high-priced goods, pretending to be buyers to actively contact to reach a transaction and meet to deliver the goods.
When the two sides meet, the member will show a screenshot of the phone call by cheque to prove that the seller’s bank account has been counted. The seller suspects that he only sees the “account balance” of his account, but it is not clear whether the check can be cashed or not , So he handed the goods to the buyer, and later discovered that “the bomb”, that is, the other party paid a short check.
During the period from September 24 to November 13, the police received a total of 24 similar deception cases. 25 subjects (aged 20 to 44) were defrauded of RMB 1.92 million in property, with a loss of RMB 5500 to 830,000 per case. Yuan varies.
Of the 25 most expensive diamonds lost
Wong Tai Sin Police Chief Inspector Mo Ziwei said that fraudsters used short checks to pass into the “empty window period” of bank accounts, which led sellers to believe that the other party had paid and delivered the goods. , 22 iPhone smartphones, luxury handbags and camera lenses. The highest amount is a 1.8-carat diamond with a value of about 830,000 yuan. The owner is a company that buys and sells diamonds. The company also sells goods online, so fraudsters have a chance.
Two sets worth 300,000 watches
Investigations by the Wong Tai Sin Police District Squad, together with the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Investigation Bureau, identified 10 targeted persons and arrested 3 men and 1 woman at the end of last month. Until the day before yesterday, three more target persons (two men and one woman) were arrested, and two Rolex watch stolen goods worth about 300,000 yuan were recovered. They are hunting down at the same party and the rest of the stolen goods.
The police appeal to the public to be careful when conducting transactions on social media, especially by checking. Pay attention to the “book balance” and “available balance”. It takes one or two working days to “check the balance” for cheques. Take advantage of this “empty window” crime. If the public has been deceived or has information about the case, please contact the police at 3661 6060.