Hong Kong housewife swindled out of HK$65mil by phone scammers accusing her of spreading fake news

The woman lost more than any other phone scam victim so far this year, using all of her savings and borrowing money to pay the criminals, a police source said. Posing as an employee from Beijing’s liaison office, a fraudster called the woman and accused her of ‘spreading false news about anti-pandemic measures’. — SCMP

A Hong Kong housewife has been swindled out of HK$65mil (US$8.3mil or RM34.97mil) by phone scammers accusing her of spreading fake news about the central government’s measures to fight Covid-19 in mainland China.

The woman – who is in her 40s and lives in Mei Foo Sun Chuen, a private housing estate in Lai Chi Kok – lost more than any other phone scam victim so far this year, forking over all of her savings and even borrowing money from her family to pay the criminals, according to a police source.