Credit Card Scam Linked To 2bn People Busted: Police

Police said on Tuesday that they believe they have smashed a gang that stole personal information and credit card details of two billion people around the world and scammed over a million dollars from some Hong Kong residents.

The force said five of the syndicate’s core members – three local women and two men from Morocco – were arrested this month following a joint investigation with Singaporean authorities that started in May.

A sum of HK$850,000, believed to be crime proceeds, was also confiscated.

The group had allegedly gathered the personal information and credit card details of the two billion people from over 40 countries and regions by sending out phishing emails from shopping websites that they had hacked into.

Officers did not disclose the names of the affected websites, saying only that they involved electronic stores as well as music and movie links.

Police said the group used the stolen credit card details to make online purchases, with each transaction ranging from HK$200 to HK$30,000.

Superintendent of the police's Cyber Intelligence Division, Swalikh Mohammed, said each credit card will only be used once or twice, and in many occasions, the card owner wouldn’t even notice the fraudulent transaction.

At least 14 Hong Kong people and 21 Singaporeans have fallen victim to the scam, involving some HK$1.3 million.

Mohammed said the fraudsters have been operating for over a year, and he isn’t ruling out further arrests.

“This is a massive phishing scam as well as credit card fraud … we do not rule out the possibility that other locations are involved as well, and we will actively work with other locations (that) are involved," he said.