Police officers stand guard outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on May 8, 2022. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)

Hong Kong recorded more online fraud cases with greater losses in the first half of this year, compared with 2022, with most of them taking place on Facebook and the city’s Faster Payment System (FPS), according to the police.

As a counter measure, the police will issue scam alerts for people transferring money via the FPS at the end of this year.

Police officers in charge of cyber security said the special administrative region recorded an average of one cyber scam case every 14 minutes in the first half of 2023, compared with one case in 20 minutes last year.

The police said online-shopping scams thrive on social media and shopping platforms, with 60 percent of the cases occurring on Facebook, 23 percent on second-hand trading platform Carousell, five percent on WhatsApp and four percent on Instagram

Between January and June this year, 4,872 scam cases concerning online shopping were reported -- a 23.2-percent year-on-year increase. Victims’ losses in online-shopping scams rose 1.6 times to HK$94 million ($12 million), compared with the same period in 2022

Between January and June this year, 4,872 scam cases concerning online shopping were reported -- a 23.2-percent year-on-year increase. Victims’ losses in online-shopping scams rose 1.6 times to HK$94 million ($12 million), compared with the same period in 2022.

The police said online-shopping scams thrive on social media and shopping platforms, with 60 percent of the cases occurring on Facebook, 23 percent on second-hand trading platform Carousell, five percent on WhatsApp and four percent on Instagram.

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Scammers often use concert tickets, hotel and catering coupons, and luxury goods to lure buyers. After receiving payment, they would disappear or block buyers’ accounts to prevent them from sending messages.

In some cases, fraudsters pretended to be buyers and used dishonored checks to pay for products sold on online platforms. They would claim to have deposited more than the required payment through the checks that bounced, and demand refunds for having “overpaid” for the goods purchased.

Bonnie Ngan Hoi-ian, acting superintendent of the police force’s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau, said 50 people were arrested recently in connection with online scams involving HK$3.5 million.

The victims were aged from 11 to 76. Police warned residents against letting their guard down as anyone, regardless of gender, age, standard of education or occupation, could fall victim to online-shopping fraud.

Police advised sellers of products to avoid accepting payments by check, and online shoppers to deal with reputable sellers and arrange for face-to-face delivery of goods if possible. People should also be on the alert if they’re asked to deposit money through the FPS into personal accounts instead of corporate accounts.

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Police said they’ve been working with social media and online shopping platforms to freeze suspected fraudulent accounts or remove posts relating to scams. In the first half of this year, the police requested Facebook to review 5,200 scam-suspected pages and accounts, with 95 percent of them having been removed.

In March this year, police launched an anti-fraud search engine called  “Scameter” with the help of the city’s  banking and financial sectors. Through “Scameter”, people can search for data concerning bank account and phone numbers, and receive a colored risk-rated response. If the data submitted is linked to fraud, the search engine would alert users before they make payments or conduct transactions.

The police will cooperate with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the banking sector in sending scam alerts to FPS users at the end of this year by using the Scameter database.

READ MORE: Residents need effective alerts against cyberfraud

When residents transfer money via the FPS to another person, the receiver’s FPS information will be matched with that in the database. If the receiver’s FPS identification code is found to be scam-related, potential victims would receive an alert warning instantly, and decide for themselves whether or not to proceed with the transfer.