Police Nab 13 People For Online Cons Worth HK$7mn

Police say they have smashed what they described as a "highly-organised crime syndicate" that had conned online sellers out of more than HK$7mn and was involved in a robbery and a 'furious driving' case.

Thirteen people, aged between 16 and 27 years old, were arrested.

Police say some of those arrested had robbed a second-hand dealer of some 700 smartphones in January.

Two of them were caught after refusing to stop for a police roadblock and engaging in 'furious driving' last month.

Investigators found that the syndicate targeted sellers of luxury handbags and swish cars online.

The victims handed over their goods after receiving fake cheques or bank drafts. Senior Inspector Tam Chung-hoo from the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau reminded online sellers to use cash wherever possible.

This syndicate contributed to a spike in the amount of money involved in online scams between January and April. Police say HK$12.5 million were cheated out of online shoppers and sellers for the period - more than three times the amount from the same period of last year.

Police also warned of a rise in online fraud, with 632 cases reported for the first four months of this year - 17 per cent higher than last year.