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Eight held over $5m eBay scam
(STANDARD) 07/27
Police have arrested eight people over a HK$5 million internet scam that made use of international e-auction platform eBay to cheat would-be buyers all over the world.
It is believed more than 10,000 people have been swindled through fraudulent transactions and police are still trying to ascertain the actual number of victims.
The suspects - five men and three women aged between 18 and 47 - were detained in raids that began across the territory early yesterday. They are alleged to have been involved in a well- organized e-auction fraud syndicate that was smashed following intensive investigations with the help of eBay, which is based in the United States.
Senior Superintendent Man Chi- hung of the Commercial Crime Bureau's technology crime division said most of the transactions involved electronic products such as MP3 players and computer memory cards.
"Some of the goods were set at very low prices to attract bidding, while some were set at normal or market prices to avoid suspicion," Man said. Payments were made by buyers, but the items were never delivered.
Fraud and money-laundering activities were involved, according to police, and some of those detained had allegedly sold their bank accounts to the syndicate for handling the illegal proceeds.
Seven computers and bank statements relating to the transactions were seized.
"None of the auctioned products was recovered," Man said.
He advised people involved in e-auctions to check the reputation of electronic platforms as well as their policies to protect their customers.
Man also said details of sellers and buyers should be obtained before payments are made and goods delivered.
Police are investigating the roles of those arrested and whether the mastermind of the scam is among them.
A source said that the suspects included a mother and her daughter, and a couple.
Jenny Yip, communications manager of eBay Hong Kong, said the company has a team of more than 2,000 people worldwide to monitor suspicious transactions.
"In this case, our team detected some irregular activities at eBay and we reported to police. We've also received complaints from buyers claiming they did not receive any goods after payments had been made," Yip said.
Many victims are from Britain and the United States, with some from Hong Kong.
Yip said if payments are made by PayPal, purchases are protected by up to US$2,000 (HK$15,600).
(STANDARD) 07/27
Police have arrested eight people over a HK$5 million internet scam that made use of international e-auction platform eBay to cheat would-be buyers all over the world.
It is believed more than 10,000 people have been swindled through fraudulent transactions and police are still trying to ascertain the actual number of victims.
The suspects - five men and three women aged between 18 and 47 - were detained in raids that began across the territory early yesterday. They are alleged to have been involved in a well- organized e-auction fraud syndicate that was smashed following intensive investigations with the help of eBay, which is based in the United States.
Senior Superintendent Man Chi- hung of the Commercial Crime Bureau's technology crime division said most of the transactions involved electronic products such as MP3 players and computer memory cards.
"Some of the goods were set at very low prices to attract bidding, while some were set at normal or market prices to avoid suspicion," Man said. Payments were made by buyers, but the items were never delivered.
Fraud and money-laundering activities were involved, according to police, and some of those detained had allegedly sold their bank accounts to the syndicate for handling the illegal proceeds.
Seven computers and bank statements relating to the transactions were seized.
"None of the auctioned products was recovered," Man said.
He advised people involved in e-auctions to check the reputation of electronic platforms as well as their policies to protect their customers.
Man also said details of sellers and buyers should be obtained before payments are made and goods delivered.
Police are investigating the roles of those arrested and whether the mastermind of the scam is among them.
A source said that the suspects included a mother and her daughter, and a couple.
Jenny Yip, communications manager of eBay Hong Kong, said the company has a team of more than 2,000 people worldwide to monitor suspicious transactions.
"In this case, our team detected some irregular activities at eBay and we reported to police. We've also received complaints from buyers claiming they did not receive any goods after payments had been made," Yip said.
Many victims are from Britain and the United States, with some from Hong Kong.
Yip said if payments are made by PayPal, purchases are protected by up to US$2,000 (HK$15,600).
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