Covid-19 Scammers Target Hongkongers: Police

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2020-05-22 HKT 02:38

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  Officers say the scammers either want to swindle people by offering to sell personal protective equipment or mine their personal data. Photo: RTHK

Police say the number of malicious websites targeting Hong Kong has jumped by almost 50 percent in the first four months of the year, as the city battled Covid-19. Almost 800 domains were identified – a quarter of them registered with names linked to the coronavirus.

The force managed to remove the majority of the sites, though at least 67 people have fallen prey to the fraudsters, losing around HK$8 million.

"There's huge concern about the pandemic," said superintendent Lam Cheuk-ho from the cyber security bureau. "They just take this as a theme because people are concerned about their well-being."

Officers said the scammers either wanted to swindle people by offering to sell them personal protective equipment, or to mine their personal data by creating websites that mirror those of the government.