Mainland Chinese HKUST student loses HK$1 million to scammer posing as official

A mainland Chinese university student in Hong Kong has lost about HK$1 million (US$127,500) in a scam, in which the fraudster claimed she was involved in a criminal case and demanded “guarantees” from her.

Police said they received a report from a 19-year-old mainland woman who was student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) at 1.07am on Sunday.

The force said the victim had earlier received calls from someone posing as a government officer, accusing her of being involved in a criminal case on the mainland and demanding that she pay around HK$1 million in “guarantees”.

She made the payment but later realised she might have been deceived, prompting her to call police, the force added.

The case has been classified as deception.

In the first three months of this year, 42 mainland students in Hong Kong fell victim to scams involving fraudsters posing as mainland authorities.