Mail delivery phishing scammers cheat Hongkongers out of HK$2.2mil as demand for delivery during Covid-19 pandemic surges

Criminals sent victims fake messages or emails purportedly from Hongkong Post asking for credit card details to cover a mailing fee, police say. The information was then used to make online purchases, with one man cheated out of HK$75,000. — SCMP

Scammers have cheated more than 100 Hongkongers out of HK$2.2mil (RM1.17mil) since November through phishing text messages and emails purporting to be from Hongkong Post, while demand for delivery services during the coronavirus pandemic surged.

Many of the fake messages told victims they had a parcel delivery pending but the recipient address was incomplete, according to the police’s cybersecurity and technology crime bureau. Scammers then directed victims to a controlled website and asked for a postal fee of a few dollars.