Internet fraudsters tricked more than 270 Hong Kong residents out of nearly HK$14 million (US$1.8 million) through online shopping scams in the first week of 2026, police have said.
The average daily loss of HK$2 million prompted the force to issue a scam alert on Monday, urging caution among online consumers and people selling products on the internet.
One of the victims was a 26-year-old man who was targeted after he tried to sell a suitcase on the online platform Carousell and left his contact details on the website.
Police said a scammer posing as a buyer sent the victim a bogus Carousell link through WhatsApp. At first, the seller refused to enter his details on the site, which was used for phishing.
“But later, the scammer told him to contact a fake Carousell ‘customer service’ worker, who claimed he needed to pay a deposit before receiving payment for the suitcase,” the force said.
The man followed instructions to transfer HK$210,000 to a bank account in two transactions.
The victim realised he had been cheated after he was unable to contact the “buyer”.
Police said in a public warning on their CyberDefender Facebook page that “whether you are a buyer or a seller, you should be cautious if someone sends you a link to a third-party website during a transaction, and then asks you to transfer money or give personal details (like email, password, or credit card information). It’s likely to be a scam!”
The force recorded at least 276 reports of online shopping fraud last week, involving losses of nearly HK$14 million – a significant increase from the 230 reports and more than HK$5.7 million in losses in the final week of 2025.
Police said nearly 30 per cent of the cases involved concert tickets, with losses of more than HK$1.4 million.
The force revealed last month that residents lost HK$6.43 billion to various scams in the first 10 months of 2025, an 8 per cent decrease from the same period in 2024.
Of the 35,831 cases reported, 4,515 involved online investment fraud, with losses rising 30 per cent to HK$3.08 billion.
Police chief Joe Chow Yat-ming is expected to give details of the overall crime situation including trends in online scams in 2025, during his first year-end briefing soon. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
