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To deal with a rapid surge of telephone deception cases with new modus operandi, in which the conmen posed as "public security officials" on the Mainland or staff members of banks or courier companies, various districts / divisions launched publicity drives last month to give the public a better understanding of conmen's modus operandi.
TWDIST
Tsuen Wan District (TWDIST) has taken a number of initiatives to deal with phone scams. Assistant District Commander (Operations) Tam Nga-ching, with the support of Regional Crime Prevention Office (RCPO) New Territories South, invited the chairpersons and members of owners' committees, Owners' Corporations and mutual aid committees, as well as supervisors of property management and security companies, to attend two seminars last month. The seminars offered briefings on the recent trend of phone scams and the mode of operandi.
Officers also shared with the audiences their experiences of dealing with scams, offered advice on prevention measures and appealed to them to alert their families, relatives and friends to the ways conmen operate.
Other initiatives include broadcasting messages from a patrol car, setting up a mobile crime prevention station to distribute fliers, as well as using social media platforms to disseminate messages.
EDIST
Police Community Relations Office Eastern District (EDIST), RCPO Hong Kong Island and Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau held an "EDIST Anti-Phone and Online Deception - Train-the-Trainer Seminar" for 30 security guards from 19 public and private estates in EDIST and 10 EDIST Senior Police Call members on July 31. They were also appointed EDIST Anti-Phone and Online Deception Ambassador by EDIST Commander Graham Mitchelmore. The security guards who have come up with good performances will be nominated for the 2016 EDIST Outstanding Security Guard Award to be organised by Eastern District Fight Crime Committee (EDFCC).
Officiating at the seminar were North Point Assistant Divisional Commander (Operations) Law Lai-yi, Police Community Relations Officer EDIST Ku Siu-fai, EDFCC Vice-chairman, Mr Leung Chi-kong, and an EDFCC member, Mr Tse Tsz-kei.
LTNDIV
Lantau North Division (LTNDIV) rolled out an Anti-telephone Deception Campaign jointly with a District Councillor, Mr Lo Kwong-shing, housing estate mutual aid committee members, security personnel and officers from the RCPO on July 29. LTNDIV Divisional Commander Tam Chun-hei is concerned about phone scams and eager to make the locals more aware of the crime through education and publicity.
