HK fraudsters impersonating PayMe employees sentenced to imprisonment for 24 to 56 months
A fraud group impersonated PayMe employees and called 138 victims in Hong Kong two years ago, claiming to verify account identities as a reason to extract one-time verification codes and transaction passwords. Then they transferred funds to stooge accounts, which involved over HK$1.5 million.
12 people were charged, of which 10 admitted to a total of 13 counts of money laundering or conspiracy to launder money, as well as one count of conspiracy to commit fraud.
District Judge Lin Kam-hung, stated yesterday that the fraud cases involving stooge accounts are increasingly rampant and pose a significant threat to society. He approved the prosecutor's application for increased penalties on some conspiracy and money laundering charges, sentencing nine individuals to imprisonment for 24 to 56 months, while the female mastermind who pleaded guilty was remanded until sentencing on Sept. 29 next year.
Lin pointed out that this case was a planned criminal operation involving multiple fraudsters and 138 victims, with a total amount exceeding HK$1.5 million and a duration of five months. The fraudsters did not falsely claim to be relatives of the victims, thus not involving emotional extortion. There was also no evidence indicating international factors. Nevertheless, the nature of the case is still considered extremely serious given the number of offenses, the duration of the crime, and the number of victims.
Lin noted that the fraudulent methods will inevitably cause the public to lose trust in online transactions, which will cause banks to strengthen their security and increase operational costs. The victims are not just the citizens but the entire efficiency of the banking system, affecting Hong Kong's international competitiveness.
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