Police hold gang over eBay scam worth millions
(SCMP) 07/27
Police say they have smashed an online- fraud operation that cheated consumers out of HK$5 million by offering goods for sale on eBay that were never delivered.
Eight locals were arrested when police raided about 20 premises mainly flats in a pre-dawn operation yesterday. Seven sets of computer and bank records were seized but no electronic goods were found.
Investigations showed that the syndicate made more than 2,000 transactions, many of them involving consumers from overseas, including the United States and Britain. Police said it was the biggest online-auction fraud ever seen in Hong Kong.
"The gang was well-organised and big. In the first half of this year, their profit was over HK$5 million," said Senior Superintendent Man Chi-hung, of the Commercial Crime Bureau.
The syndicate offered electronic products such as MP3 players, computer memory cards and DVD players for sale on the auction website.
"To attract buyers, the goods were sold at lower prices, or described as limited editions or as unavailable in retail outlets," Mr Man said.
He said transactions varied from several hundred dollars to HK$5,000.
"However, the goods were never delivered after payment was made."
Mr Man warned similar frauds "could happen anywhere and anytime in any corner of the world".
The eight suspects five men and three women are aged between 18 and 47 and include a lifeguard, delivery worker, driver and office clerk.
Officers are investigating whether the ringleader of the syndicate is among the suspects. They were being held last night for questioning. No charges had been laid.
A complaint filed by eBay Hong Kong several months ago prompted an investigation by the bureau's technology-crime division, which led to the arrests yesterday.
Jenny Yip Yung, eBay communications manager, said the victims who made payments through the PayPal system would be compensated. The maximum compensation is US$2,000.
She said the company employed more than 2,000 people to help identify and stop fraud on their website with the help of anti-graft technology.
She said the arrests demonstrated the effectiveness of the company's anti-fraud measures.
"Online fraud is an industry-wide problem globally. The industry is working hard to combat the problem," Ms Yip said.
In the first six months of this year, there were more than 300 cases of technology-related crime. There were 741 cases in the whole of last year.
(SCMP) 07/27
Police say they have smashed an online- fraud operation that cheated consumers out of HK$5 million by offering goods for sale on eBay that were never delivered.
Eight locals were arrested when police raided about 20 premises mainly flats in a pre-dawn operation yesterday. Seven sets of computer and bank records were seized but no electronic goods were found.
Investigations showed that the syndicate made more than 2,000 transactions, many of them involving consumers from overseas, including the United States and Britain. Police said it was the biggest online-auction fraud ever seen in Hong Kong.
"The gang was well-organised and big. In the first half of this year, their profit was over HK$5 million," said Senior Superintendent Man Chi-hung, of the Commercial Crime Bureau.
The syndicate offered electronic products such as MP3 players, computer memory cards and DVD players for sale on the auction website.
"To attract buyers, the goods were sold at lower prices, or described as limited editions or as unavailable in retail outlets," Mr Man said.
He said transactions varied from several hundred dollars to HK$5,000.
"However, the goods were never delivered after payment was made."
Mr Man warned similar frauds "could happen anywhere and anytime in any corner of the world".
The eight suspects five men and three women are aged between 18 and 47 and include a lifeguard, delivery worker, driver and office clerk.
Officers are investigating whether the ringleader of the syndicate is among the suspects. They were being held last night for questioning. No charges had been laid.
A complaint filed by eBay Hong Kong several months ago prompted an investigation by the bureau's technology-crime division, which led to the arrests yesterday.
Jenny Yip Yung, eBay communications manager, said the victims who made payments through the PayPal system would be compensated. The maximum compensation is US$2,000.
She said the company employed more than 2,000 people to help identify and stop fraud on their website with the help of anti-graft technology.
She said the arrests demonstrated the effectiveness of the company's anti-fraud measures.
"Online fraud is an industry-wide problem globally. The industry is working hard to combat the problem," Ms Yip said.
In the first six months of this year, there were more than 300 cases of technology-related crime. There were 741 cases in the whole of last year.
全站熱搜
留言列表
