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Clifford Lo

Internet fraudsters tricked more than 270 Hong Kong residents out of nearly HK$14 million (US$1.8 million) through online shopping scams in the first week of 2026, police have said.
The average daily loss of HK$2 million prompted the force to issue a scam alert on Monday, urging caution among online consumers and people selling products on the internet.
One of the victims was a 26-year-old man who was targeted after he tried to sell a suitcase on the online platform Carousell and left his contact details on the website.
Police said a scammer posing as a buyer sent the victim a bogus Carousell link through WhatsApp. At first, the seller refused to enter his details on the site, which was used for phishing.
“But later, the scammer told him to contact a fake Carousell ‘customer service’ worker, who claimed he needed to pay a deposit before receiving payment for the suitcase,” the force said.
The man followed instructions to transfer HK$210,000 to a bank account in two transactions.
The victim realised he had been cheated after he was unable to contact the “buyer”.
Police said in a public warning on their CyberDefender Facebook page that “whether you are a buyer or a seller, you should be cautious if someone sends you a link to a third-party website during a transaction, and then asks you to transfer money or give personal details (like email, password, or credit card information). It’s likely to be a scam!”
The force recorded at least 276 reports of online shopping fraud last week, involving losses of nearly HK$14 million – a significant increase from the 230 reports and more than HK$5.7 million in losses in the final week of 2025.
Police said nearly 30 per cent of the cases involved concert tickets, with losses of more than HK$1.4 million.
The force revealed last month that residents lost HK$6.43 billion to various scams in the first 10 months of 2025, an 8 per cent decrease from the same period in 2024.
Of the 35,831 cases reported, 4,515 involved online investment fraud, with losses rising 30 per cent to HK$3.08 billion.
Police chief Joe Chow Yat-ming is expected to give details of the overall crime situation including trends in online scams in 2025, during his first year-end briefing soon.


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News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Police urge caution among consumers and sellers after receiving 276 reports of online shopping fraud last week


Police urge caution among consumers and sellers after receiving 276 reports of online shopping fraud last week.


Online shopping scams cost Hongkongers HK$14 million in first week of 2026

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Police urge caution among consumers and sellers after receiving 276 reports of online shopping fraud last week

Police urge caution among consumers and sellers after receiving 276 reports of online shopping fraud last week