A 66-year-old woman in Hong Kong lost HK$2.7 million (US$344,158), approximately ₹ 3 crore, after falling victim to a telephone scam in which a caller falsely claimed that her bank account was linked to money laundering.
The caller then instructed her to transfer money into designated bank accounts, claiming the funds were required for investigative purposes. They may then demand transfers to designated accounts under the pretext of resolving the alleged problem.
During the call, the man allegedly told the woman that a bank account she had used to purchase insurance online had been implicated in money laundering activities.
The incident resembles a fraud method previously highlighted by Hong Kong’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC), in which criminals impersonate bank employees or law enforcement officials and falsely accuse victims of financial wrongdoing. In an earlier public advisory, the centre warned that fraudsters sometimes claim a person’s bank account has been involved in suspicious transactions or money laundering.
