HONG KONG SCAM ALERT!
Listen up, what you’re about to read is my very recent first-hand encounter with a scammer from Hong Kong and hopefully you’ll do the right thing by warning your family and friends before these unscrupulous crooks have a field day with their next targets! Warning: long post!
Screenshot of scammer's web page which no longer exists
Day 1—The Introduction
Just under a week ago, I received a phone call from a lady who claimed she represents Hong Kong TachAsia Leisure Centre and she had called me (at my home number!) to conduct a market survey. First thing I’d noticed was her strong mainland Chinese accent which she later said she’s from Taiwan and had just returned to her birth place, Hong Kong to work for this organisation. The questions she asked were basic enough to warrant an innocent knee-jerk response such as my name, marital status, profession and so forth–the typical answers to a typical market survey questionnaire. This was Day 1.
Day 2—The Follow Up
The same lady called again and pretended she didn’t get my name spelt correctly and she needed to ensure their ‘client’ database is accurate. After ’successful completion’ I was asked to (and she insisted that I) make a note of my lucky number A56118 and added that the company was doing this research to provide data which would lead up to the opening of their subsidiary office in Brunei. At this point, asking her questions concerning where this new office was going to open and when returned no useful or meaningful answer.
Day 3—Relentless
The caller persisted with yet another phone call and this time in her further attempt to create an atmosphere of trust and credibility, she said to watch a programme to air on one of the Astro channels between 5—6 pm. Their company allegedly hosted a grand lucky draw where Hong Kong celebrity Andy Lau would officiate the event (see the connection between my LUCKY number and where this is leading to?). I did not bother to find out if the programme was for real as I had more important things on my mind.
Day 4—Feeling Lucky
The caller delightfully rang (by now, I had gotten quiet sick of her voice and the frequency of her calls were like clock work—devilishly predictable). This is the best part, she announced that I was one of the very fortunate winners out of 5 other winners to have won second prize of B$67,500 cash. First prize was a BMW that had been won by someone in mainland China. She said there were two other winners in Brunei, one in Singapore and another in Malaysia all of whom had also won cash prizes of the same amount. What do you think happened next, after this alleged great news? She needed my bank account number so she could wire me my money. No harm here in giving her my account number. By now, this was becoming too good a news to be remotely true! Here, she ended the conversation with a heart-warming congratulatory note. She added (with a touch of envy) that Bruneians are so lucky to have a generous Sultan who looks after his people.
Day 5—The Catch!
She called to inform me that there is a temporary road-block to getting my money wired to Brunei. She continued that the Hong Kong government required all wire transfers be verified as a measure to curb the rampant money laundering cases (quite the irony!). In order to quickly facilitate this (this is where it got very interesting), I had to have a letter to certify that I was a legit winner and in order to obtain this letter, I would need to wire a sum equivalent to 4.3% of my prize money to a legal entity appointed by them. I was given two transfer options: Telegraphic Transfer or Western Union, the latter of which is quicker and I would receive the money sooner too! Sensing my hesitation and stammering between words, she said I needed to make a decision soon on order for her to secure a a busy legal representative … moments later, I agreed with the telegraphic transfer option and she was able to miraculously give me a name of an independent rep who isn’t associated to her organization in any way. At this point, I was close to puking at the extend of her lies which after almost a week, seemed no end!
Later part of Day 5 – Revelation
By lunch time, she had spilled more than she should have and at this juncture, in order to get my money (B$2,900) it had to be a bank account to transfer wire the money to and this individual was: TAN YAU BOON whose bank account number 0136 0010 3125 21 had an account with CIMB BANK in Malaysia. She also reminded me to call her (a Ms Lim Mei Hua at Hong Kong number 00852 30658450). Armed with this information, I immediately fired an email to CIMB Bank. Within the next business day I received the following response …
Dear Jan Shim,
Thank you for your email.
We wish to inform you that we have forwarded your email to our higher level management for further investigation (under suspected fraud case). Please be extra careful and do not transfer funds to any unknown parties.
We highly appreciate on your action to highlight this matter to us for our investigation and further action. Thank you.
Regards and have a great day.
and within a matter of hours following their first response, came …
Dear Jan Shim,
In relation to our previous email as below, we would like to notify you that this is a scam. Thus, please do not transfer any amount to the mentioned person (TAN YAU BOON) and other unknown parties.
Regards and have a great day.
By now, the lady kept calling to find out if I had made the remittance. I no longer entertain her calls and usually let the phone ring till it stopped. Isn’t it scary that you could be sweet-talked into being $2,900 worse off in just a week? With online phone listings and directory services, if anything, it has made these scams against unsuspecting individuals more rampant!
On Nov 24, 2007 UNITED DAILY NEWS picked up my story and translated it to Chinese with the hope of reaching the Chinese speaking community that the syndicate is targetting. Click on image to read the full article.
© 2007 United Daily News
** NEWSFLASH! A housewife in Malaysia was cheated of RM500,000 by a syndicate as reported by Berita Harian in the Malay language.
© 2007 Berita Harian
Additional information
- For a light-hearted version of the same scam with a slightly different modus operandi check out the graphic blog by Kenny Sia (link courtesy of resourceful blogger Jewelle)
- Thanks to an contact in Hong Kong who confirmed the government imposes no such requirement for outgoing funds, at least to her understanding, for the amount in question.
- A Chinese version of this post translated by UNITED DAILY NEWS to reach the Chinese community everywhere. Published on November 24, 2007
CC, 
Jenison 10:13 pm on November 21, 2007 Permalink |
Set her up! Great story so far. Cant wait to hear how it plays out.
Is there any FBI equivilant or scam specialist police over there?
Jewelle 10:18 pm on November 21, 2007 Permalink |
Good one. Let’s hope all will read and learn from this.
Iguanaz » HONG KONG SCAM ALERT! 10:28 pm on November 21, 2007 Permalink |
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptHONG KONG SCAM ALERT! November 21, 2007 by Jan Shim Listen up, what you’re about to read is my very recent first-hand encounter with a scammer from Hong Kong and hopefully you’ll do the right thing by warning your family and friends before these unscrupulous crooks have a field day with their next target! [Warning: long post ahead] [IMG scam.jpg] Day 1—The Introduction Just under a week ago, I received a phone call from a lady who claimed she represents Hong Kong TachAsia Leisure Centre [...]
jenny 10:37 pm on November 21, 2007 Permalink |
We get that crap a lot in the States … just have to use common sense and tell the annoying person NO THANKS!! of course, I have learned from the past especially with international business transactions… GRRR!!
Mimi 10:40 pm on November 21, 2007 Permalink |
This is the common tactic used in Vancouver as well. There is no free lunch in this world. Jan is nice to share this story with everyone. Please take note and inform your elderly at home.
Jan Shim 10:56 pm on November 21, 2007 Permalink |
@ Jenison
Yes, it’s called CRIME SHIM INVESTIGATION (CSi)
Jaslyn Kong 1:46 am on November 22, 2007 Permalink |
Oh man… Way cool, Jan…
I wonder why such low scams still happen… and surprisingly, some ppl do fall for it.. But hey, Jan, great work and thanks for letting us know… I think this syndicate is targeting on Asian countries, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei…
Singapore is getting a few phone scams cases lately also….think twice in future about leaving your mobile contact number details in lucky draw tickets, etc….
華 7:26 am on November 22, 2007 Permalink |
你的真實故事和我友人幾乎一樣.
和你說：就是有人相信她的說法.
貪心做遂.
jessie 9:17 am on November 22, 2007 Permalink |
I heard those cases happened in other countries too but i never know that it will happen also in Brunei!! Gosh.. should be more aware of these calls in the future!!
Souljah 11:11 am on November 22, 2007 Permalink |
This has been going on for a while now, and this is the most recent case that I know that they had the gall to call up people and entice them that way. My father received an SMS from Indonesia that told him that he won something from a TV station there. I immediately told him that it was indeed a scam, and to never trust anyone contacting out of the blue to give you money.
I have two or three such messages in my phone, and I was wondering of such a way to ‘kena-kan’ these scammers.
sgdavid 2:15 pm on November 22, 2007 Permalink |
Scams like these have been around but the tactics they used has evolved. They are getting better!
The typical age group that fall into these traps are usually the older folks. It was in the news in Singapore a few weeks back and now we are more cautious.
I personally have brought this up as a topic over dinner and warned my folks and let them know that people are being cheated of and remind them to be cautious. So i guess you can do likewise if you have old folks at home.
Personally….I feel that it something is too good to be true, it probably is. I don’t think people go around giving away money because they have too much
(People can never have too much money)!!! 
Jan Shim 2:49 pm on November 22, 2007 Permalink |
@ Jaslyn
Who knows what goes on in this world anymore?! The world we live in is politcally, economically and socially messed up and like many level headed people I know, I live my life one day at a time and in moderation. It’s too easy to fall prey to these crooks if you’re deep in debt and are constantly looking for a way out!
@ Jessie
We’ve often read about this in our email and you wouldn’t think this could ever happen to you. Until it does! It’s very different when you become a target. Hanging up the phone would be too easy, going along with them, seeing how low they stoop is far more interesting.
The lady has not given up at all. She still calls my house each day and this time my Filipina helper answers and they can engage in a duck and chicken conversation for all I care. Failing to get me at home, she would ring my mobile which I gladly ignore. She’s come so far and is under the impression that this victim is just one Telegraphic Transfer away from victory!
sally 4:34 pm on November 22, 2007 Permalink |
My husband had a similar call from someone who spoke with a strong mainland chinese accent a few weeks ago. She claimed to be doing a marketing survey like the tactic she used with you. Fortunately, the conversation ended because my husband was not very fluent in chinese. Othewise, he would be one of the victims of the scam. Always remember nothing comes easy!
vincent 4:50 pm on November 22, 2007 Permalink |
Yo bro, this lady calling me also…haha..1st time she cal me i pretend i dun understand mandarin and english and she hang up..
second time she cal up again i say i was reporter and i want 2 do an interview wh her and ask for their co. details etc…then she hang up…
i wait for d 3rd time cal, but since 2nd time she cal me and hang up, then there is no more 3rd time..haha..i’m lucky..
Christina 5:46 pm on November 22, 2007 Permalink |
Thanks for sharing this U.Jan.
This happened to 1 of my friends too, couple of months ago. Amazingly and shamelessly, the “lady” happens to call again 2 days ago, beginning the same conversation with “Do you know how to speak chinese?”(in mandarin) It happens that the best way to handle this is just hang up the phone… and pretend you didn’t receive any call…
About the lady being cheated…. sorry to say that no one is to blame but herself….. someone who owns RM500K still wants to hope that RM1.2M to fall down from the sky like THAT??? greedy ma…!
Scammer nowadays use high level psychology jutsu i say…. It’s just not easy to not fall into the trap…. be alert people… Remember.. there is NO, again NO free lunch in this world.
Jaslyn Kong 12:42 am on November 23, 2007 Permalink |
I agree Christina’s “there is NO free lunch in this world…” statement.. You want to achieve something, you have to earn it. I suppose the LOVE of money becomes the root of evil… NOT “Money is evil”….
These scammers know that there will still be ppl around who have GREED for money… so they hope to target on these individuals. It’s sad that how these scammers have the intellect but aint willing to work and sweat to earn their keep. They rather do the shortcut method..
I think this is also a good incident to teach the younger ones so that they can learn and are exposed to such frauds.. Teach them to be more street smart.
Joo Hoon 8:22 am on November 23, 2007 Permalink |
Thanks for sharing Jan.
IngSiang 10:42 am on November 23, 2007 Permalink |
I always wonder why people would fall for such a case, still, like you all said, there’s always people who would fall for it, probably 1 in a million. Sigh.
About those sms, god, I receive like 10 of ‘em in a week last time, ROFL. xD
Shazi 10:16 am on November 26, 2007 Permalink |
I have the same call last Tuesday, she gave her name as 庄丽丽, caliming they were doing marketing research on opening resort in Tutong (? of all places in Brunei?). She gave me the luckly number A56118.
The next day she called back to ask me to watch a live program on 亚洲卫视 between 5-6pm the next day on the opening ceremony with Andy Lau in HK which I did but there was no sush progam on air.
On Saturday I noticed my hand phone has an international missed call, I guess it’s probably them. Lucky me!
Thanks Jan for the revealing the scam.
Jan Shim 1:38 pm on November 26, 2007 Permalink |
I’m glad you did the right thing. The people behind these scams and the syndicate running them have no conscience and can be merciless. I hope you are able to forewarn your friends and relatives about this. It’s bad enough that they invade your privacy with these unnecessary calls, they attempt to take away your dignity too.
I would have very conveniently hung up the phone, ignore all their calls till they gave up but the thought of them preying on other individuals had me enraged! These are folks who (in Jaslyn’s words) “have the intellect but aint willing to work and sweat to earn their keep. They rather do the shortcut method.. “
Kel 11:29 pm on November 26, 2007 Permalink |
This sounds like a version of the Nigerian scam. I hope that your readers heed your warning and be mindful of these scams. Thanks for the post.
Masjuwita 8:31 am on November 27, 2007 Permalink |
Jan, got simiar calls on my handphone. She tried three times. Right the first time, my son, who speaks Chinese pissed her off….hahahhaha
The second time, I told her she got the wrong number, when in between the two calls, there had been some missed calls!
The third time I answered her, I shouted at her and told her to get lost. Seems to work that way.
Similar scams occur in internet mails, when you were told you won million of dollars in a lottery. But when actually did I buy those ticekts??
Famous one is the British Airways lottery. Wow! BA had not made enough money and decided to operate lottery? Really made me laugh.
You can check this link for samples of those emails:
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/lotteryscam_BA.php
Here are some of the more common clues that you will see in scams:
- EMAIL notification? Real lotteries NEVER notify the winners: If you hold a winning lottery ticket, you notify the lottery. Therefore, ALL emails that say you won are scams!
You didn’t buy a ticket? Then how could you win? Ask yourself, where does the money for the prizes come from?
- Email address draw? There is no such thing as a “computer draw system” or “computer ballot draw” of email addresses. It does not exist, no matter how many scammers tell you it does.
- Sent from a free email account?: The return email addresses are free Yahoo, Excite or Hotmail, AIM, Gmail, and other free email accounts,
- Don’t tell anyone? “For security reasons” you’re not allowed to talk to anyone about it (especially the police or consumerfraudreporting.org!) – which ought to be odd since lotteries thrive on publicity!
- Uneducated lotteries? The emails contain poor grammar, punctuation, strange syntax and phrasing and loads of misspellings.
- Pay to collect winnings? You NEVER have to pay to collect winnings from a legitimate lottery. You pay taxes AFTER you you receive the winnings. There are NO other fees (taxes, insurance, delivery, etc. are part of a lotteries operating costs, and are NOT taken from winnings).
- U.S. Laws? It is illegal under U.S. federal law to play ANY foreign lottery from the United States. Many other countries have similar laws. for example, you must be a Spanish resident to play the El Gordo lottery.
- Similar names? Since scammers simply invent new names for their fake lottery scams, it is more accurate to say that if you do not see the lottery on the list of legitimate lotteries, it is probably a scam.
Drifting Cloud 9:41 pm on November 29, 2007 Permalink |
Jan,
Thanks for the info. All these while I knew these type of scams were sent via email or sms, didn’t know they actually called up now. It used to be sms from China and I was asked to translate it for my non-chinese literate colleagues. So now I need to warn people at home not to answer to those phone call.
John 2:34 pm on November 30, 2007 Permalink |
This lady is calling me now!! Same tactic!!! Ask me to do survey first den ask me to watch a program and said i won $60000!! She asked for my bank account number and i gave her!! OMG!! I wanna nab this scammers!!
Jan Shim 7:02 pm on November 30, 2007 Permalink |
John,
The next time she calls, tell her firmly that you’re not a wee bit impressed to be short-changed. Ask her why your friends (emphasis on not one but a few whom you know) in Brunei got offered B$67,500. Maybe it’s Gullible Suckers Tax (GST)?
thankful 9:23 pm on December 1, 2007 Permalink |
Hello there~! Thankz for this blog entry! I was also called up by this lady and faced the same situation as you! I gave her my bank account no. and was so afraid that she will hack my bank account, so i transferred all my money out of my bank the next moment i put down the phone. I think she will be calling me again as she still have not told me about the remittance. I was thankful that i came across your blog and knew this scam! Thankz for the information!
And we should really learn that there is no free lunch in this world…to those who may come across this issue, just reject or hang up the call if you come across this lady!
Million Thankz to u!
Jan Shim 3:05 pm on December 2, 2007 Permalink |
The money in your bank is safe! Unless the phone calls are made by someone inside your bank, rest assured that giving out your account number does not compromise its security. I appreciate the unnecessary worry and stress dealing with these criminals.
Drifting Cloud 4:40 pm on December 2, 2007 Permalink |
Jan,
Spoke to my parents this morning. Apparently calls was made to our house in Lumut. But it was quite funny as described by dad. Call was answered by my grand-uncle (old man with hearing problem), he passed the phone to my dad and said he couldn’t understand anything at all when the lady was speaking in Mandarin for quite a while. So the lady basically hanged up by the time dad answered the call.
Ohya they don’t just call at home. Mum received the call at work as well. So I guess they just try any landline they could get hold of.
Jan Shim 5:35 pm on December 2, 2007 Permalink |
These callers are very persistent and talk fast to the point they do not allow you a chance to talk unless when asking if you understood what she said (and are waiting for you to spell out your account number). They are good but not good enough and their methods leave plenty of holes. They create an atmosphere of professionalism by asking you repeatedly if you understand the position you’re in, what the caller say is clear and they insist that you understand them every step of the way.
Together, we can and will beat them!
Drifting Cloud 8:07 pm on December 2, 2007 Permalink |
I am just curious how the hell they got those number? Randomly or what? Our house number are not listed in the Telbru directory also. They are just trying their luck on the number I guess. Don’t they need to pay for the phone bill (IDD number)?
Jan Shim 9:04 pm on December 2, 2007 Permalink |
See if you can find your number on the Brunei Yellow Pages online! You may be surprised just how exposed we are without even realising it. I found my own listing including full residential address. Now isn’t that scary?! As long you have a registered number, you are listed somewhere!
IDD used to mean International Direct Dial. Today, International has been replaced with Internet and you have a service called SKYPE. I imagine in China there are plenty of similar service providers of “IP” telephony for next to nothing.
Drifting Cloud 9:24 pm on December 2, 2007 Permalink |
I agree with you. Internet is useful yet not safe. It’s difficult to maintain your privacy on the net especially.
You are right. In china the international calling can be really cheap. I used to spend so much buying those calling card at a cheaper rate and able to make long hours of calls.
All these scams from China really make people having bad impression on China. The way they try to get money out of people is really scary and annoying.
Jan Shim 1:25 pm on December 3, 2007 Permalink |
I’ve updated this post with a link to the translation in Chinese by United Daily News published on Nov 24, 2007.
http://shimworld.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/hk-scam-alert.jpg
Sky 2:10 am on January 8, 2008 Permalink |
Dear All,
Currently, this case is applying to me now, the girl is contiune to call me from 9:00 am, and my stage is that she wants me account number#, I try to avoid to answer “private” call, and today Vancouver number# show up and answer the me, it’s her again… God… when will over?!, I try to say I have talk to police and she didn’t really card…………….,,, any suggestion? does RCMP or FBI can do anything? those crimes have to stop..
Jan Shim 5:52 am on January 8, 2008 Permalink |
You’re right, these crimes have to stop but they won’t. They spread quicker than you can spread butter on your bread and they are virtually untraceable unless they are dumb enough to run their operations from the same location. All they need is internet access, pull up your phone number from an internet white pages, and dial that number repeatedly using an internet phone – super cheap and effortless to do!
Don’t bother with the authorities, just use the most effective method – HANG UP – and make sure you alert your family and friends that this has happened to you and make sure they don’t get targetted next.
All the best!
Francis Sim 11:36 am on January 10, 2008 Permalink |
I received a similar call as well but the company names changed. I entertained at first but looks like I should go to the police. I asked for their website but was led to a website on a Mortgage company instead of a Electronic company. Lets hope I can nap these people, they even give me a phone number to call back!
Sky 8:14 am on February 23, 2008 Permalink |
Francis,
I think they use internet voip phone, because when they call me the number always different. I don’t know if the police want to be involved with this kind stuff.
Jan Shim 1:51 pm on February 23, 2008 Permalink |
Thanks to online banking security, these scammers have no choice but to expose themselves by giving out traceable bank account numbers. Talk about low tech compromising their high tech means of ruining someone’s day. They can run but they cannot hide. Their days are numbered and opportunities lost when we proactively inform others of this malicious intent.
Lovellynn 1:04 am on March 11, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Jan,
Have been an avid yet anonymously reader to your posting since beginning of last year. Was attracted by your photography skills and your descriptive entries enhance with powerful vocabulary.
Well, seeing so many comments for this particular entry, am wondering if any of the dudes and babes had encounter being call back and get scolded (with vulgarities) by this Ms Lim Mei Hua (Yes & no kidding. This name was used on me in Singapore) or her other correspondences?
Or am I the unlucky one to get such responses?
I have received this call 2 weeks ago. Same introduction and same follow-up in 2 days. Except that I “won” the prize on 3rd day of S$67k. It had immediately trigger my memory on this entry. On the 4th day afternoon, I exposed her scam. But what followed by was nightmare. She called every 5-10mins interval and scold vulgarities and hanged up, all done in 3 seconds! I can’t even switch off my mobile phone as it was used for business contacting purposes. Till now I still do get silence call every now & then. Wondering if its her doings..
Any suggestions or word of advice for me?
Jan Shim 10:31 am on March 11, 2008 Permalink |
Lovellynn,
If the same lady is still scamming folks she must quickly be running out of steam and from the sound of it, patience too! You’re the first one I learn to have been scolded by the perpetrator so this makes you special in my books.
There’s very little or nothing you can do if your network isn’t registering the caller’s ID—can’t see, can’t block! It doesn’t hurt to talk to the police or network operator to see if it’s actually possible. I like to think that every call has some kind of digital signature or IP address especially those coming from an internet phone. It’s disturbing to know the lengths they go and when they cannot get your money, they go that extra mile to make your life miserable!
Keep us posted and I wish you all the best. And, thanks for your appreciation. It means a lot.
Shane 4:25 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
Hello all~~ today i was received the phone call frm the china gal~ the story was totaly same like u guys mention here~ i still entertain her~ i stil acting i know nothing abt this scam, any related government or police in charge this case that i can contact?
Jan Shim 4:35 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
Shane,
I suggest you ignore her calls and wait it out till she eventually gives up. It is pointless in my opinion to let her control your day and time and for you to take matters to the authorities where it may be outside their jurisdiction to do anything useful to help you.
Shane 4:38 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
Jan Shim
Helo~ you know wat~? is that nothing we can do even we know some1 r cheating here? that was pretty sad~ like no law in the world~ hope HK government will take this case seriously`~
Shane 4:49 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
Just for review, Here was the phone number that i was received frm the caller scammer~
00-852-31771570 given by Ms. Yu
+886227060110 display frm my cellar fon n called by Ms.Chang
How come they had alot different phone number? any idea? steal line?
Jan Shim 5:01 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
You are spending too much time on this matter, just as I expected you would. She and her associates are not worth our precious time to loose sleep over. By getting all worked up and upset feeling confused and lost, you are giving her the pleasure of taking away your freedom. Drop this before you sink into this too deep.
Shane 5:19 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
Jan Shim
Maybe i spendin too much time on this~ but just dropin this scam away is same like u r know some1 cheating but u just ignore it coz it not hapen to u~~~ So far many aunty got trap by this scam~ there r very pity lor~ Hope more people will know more abt this case n not trap by this scammer~ hmm~~
Drifting Cloud 5:47 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Shane,
I believe the lady is using those IP phonecard to make the international call. Or yet she got those landlind with IP phone facilities. Those phonecard or phone features can let her make international call at pretty cheap rate.
The international contact number she gave you +852 xxxxxxxx does seem like a hong kong number while the other number +886 xxxxx is a taiwan number…. So I guess she is making use of internet ip number may be….
Jan Shim 5:54 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
What you should be doing is informing your friends, relatives and colleagues about it in anyway you can and let them know that the scam you read about on SHIMWORLD has just happened to you!
Enlighten them by linking them to this blog post. Their operation is beyond what you or the first level authorities can handle anyway.
Shane 6:24 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
Drifting Cloud
Thx for explaining~
Jan Shim
Ya~ i just forward sms to all my fren n family~ Anyway this is 1st time i entertain those scammers coz they very pro in acting~ after that i do research on internet~ i SAW many blogs are SAME story like the scammer caller told me~ Anyway i stil entertain them~ see what will hapen~ i wish i could record all the conversation between me n that scammer caller~
Lovellynn 10:42 pm on March 13, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Jan and all faithful readers,
Since neither we nor any authorities can control such scam, it would really be the best way to keep informing our family, relatives and friends every now and then in all ways and means.
I’ve reported this matter to the police and was informed that they have received quite a number of reports on such cases. The higher management personnel are looking into it and also planning to collaborate with the respective medias to help to warn citizens of such incidents in all ways, thru TV broadcast, reading materials and radio broadcasting for all races. Hopefully in this way, it will create a wider circle of awareness and keep these scammers at bay (or at least stop their operation for a time being).
Shane, its really no point entertaining these people, unless you wanna go through what I’ve been thru. Being harrassed by them.
waterangel 9:35 pm on March 19, 2008 Permalink |
Thank God! I was one step close to losing S$3125… was cautioned by the post office lady who kindly advised me to think twice.. and i stepped out. I believe i will be recieving more calls from this lady tomorrow and the days after.. they are really persistent! I’m glad I came across your site!
they are really really professional nowadays. While talking to me, she actually had another phone coming in..and she had actually “talked” to this other party as if the other person had recieved the money and is thanking her for it!
gosh!
Steven Leong's Blog » Hong Kong scam? 7:39 pm on March 31, 2008 Permalink |
[...] There is a detailed account here by Jan Shim over at Shimworld.com ==> http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/hong-kong-scam-alert/ [...]
Jenny 2:12 pm on May 10, 2008 Permalink |
I live in Australia – Perth
My dad got a call like 2 days ago from a man from hongkong and he said my dad won $1,000,000 hong kong dollars by entering a competition for some sort of tv or something in canberra and he needed my dads bank details. my dad decided to put the money on my grandma’s account who lived in hong kong so it was easier.
So he gave him my grandmas bank number and my dads birthdate and liscence no. Can that person still hack into the bank account and take money?
And today i was looking through the asia times and it was talking about a telephone scam like the one i was talking about and howcrime stoppers said it was like a scammer in hong kong with the name of burk or sumthing?
Jan Shim 2:41 pm on May 10, 2008 Permalink |
One scam does not make me an expert and I certainly won’t pretend to be one. The whole idea of scamming is that they somehow convince the victim to wire money to them. Giving them an account number + birth date + license number is counter productive. Besides banks are secure and fairly hard or impossble to hack by your average Joe.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING « A Journey Lived 1:28 pm on May 20, 2008 Permalink |
[...] visit CEBU, PHILIPPINES…… On a more serious note, I’m extremely happy that the HONG KONG SCAM ALERT! article has been instrumental in saving many from being phone scammed. The post has been linked in [...]
Henrimark de Andrade 11:41 pm on May 25, 2008 Permalink |
I´m Henrimark, from Brazil.
I think I have been recently object of scam, from a company at Alibaba.com, which was called Korg Hong Kong…they promised musical instruments of top brands. Since I sent money they are postponing the shipment and I am sure they will not send it.
Names you have to avoid: Shung Tia, Eliasu Sulemana, Baffour Edmund…
Jan Shim 5:16 pm on June 2, 2008 Permalink |
Henrimark,
Thanks for filling us in on your unfortunate incident. I contacted the International Service Center of Alibaba.com in an attempt to draw their attention to your situation. The email I wrote …
Sadly, instead of addressing the issues that’s clearly stated in the opening paragraph, a representative by the name Neo Zhou, in his email response, said …
In my further attempt to clarify the matter, I wrote back and have not heard from them since. It saddens me that the internet is used for fraudulent trade practices and there’s increasing evidence of people victimised by such contrived acts of deceipt.
On 2nd June 2008, Radio New Zealand website posted news of a student in Auckland who was scammed out of $46,000!! The same news was also reported the New Zealand Herald …
Henrimark de Andrade 2:40 am on June 9, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Jan Shim
I thank you in your help.
Alibaba deceived me too, because they just do not answer my emails. I tried the Hong Kong Police, but they say that my local police must ask them a investigation regarding to this issue.
I have the names, the email, telephone number, but not any local help. I am sad that other people may be scammed with no trial of stopping these burglars, and also sad for the trembled confidence I have now in having new business relationship with China market.
Together with the opened market in China, It should exist a great “escrow system” to protect buyers, that is, “no goods, no money”. Let´s work until the end, hardly, but honestly !
Ahmed Nour 8:04 pm on June 12, 2008 Permalink |
hey Henrimark,
i was about to order eletric drums through ALI BABA site from a guy who claimed that he is from Parson’s music and he whole sells the product.
i did not believe him and told him that (his prices were so low and his way was weird and fishy), i am from egypt so i am an expert in such scams (used to happen here a lot in more twisted ways, lol).
Next day my dad wakes me up and there he is, He got my number from ALI BABA, asking for my email so that he send all documents for ” MY REST OF MIND”.
I did send and recieved a very strange looking certificate that i did not believe. I stayed in touch and acted as if the trade is gonna happen (i still did not confirm anythng). Next morning i find him sending an invoice and an address to send the money 2 through WESTERN UNION.
Now…… it was definitly fishy he typed the invoice and the packages ready 2 be shipped without even my confirm. Business is never done like that.
Any way… what made me find this page s that i searched for the address name he sent to me( his accountant) and guess what……. he was: “Mr. Baffour Edmund,” the guy u stated in ur early post.
Now i am scamming him myself, canceling a unit, ordering another and he’s just waiting 4 his money that he’ll never get.
Henrimark 8:30 am on June 15, 2008 Permalink |
Ahmed
thank God I could be helpful in reporting their names….
As I reported this fraud to Korg Japan, Alibaba cleaned their names, but I see they created a new company and are trying to steal more money from people.
I regret that Hong Kong police cannot get these people, and Alibaba is still accepting virtual companies that don´t exist.
Now I ask: is Alibaba trustfull ? I think that in China, the frauds and copies of real brands are becoming to big that they are losing control……
There are free gangsters working for harming people, and the authorities don´t do anything…..
To all who are reading this: NEVER SEND MONEY THROUGH WESTERN UNION, TO WHOM YOU DON´T KNOW , NEVER!!!!!
Jan Shim 9:22 am on June 16, 2008 Permalink |
Henrimark/Ahmed Nour,
I Googled the matter and came across an official list of Alibaba.com registered companies that are known to be fraudulent
OFFICIAL LIST OF FRAUD/SCAM COMPANIES IN ALIBABA
I wonder if you were aware of this list at anytime before or after you were about to trade on this portal?
I also came across another site that has a comprehensive list of known names known to have scammed and defrauded.
ALIBABA GLOBAL TRADE SCAM
ALIBABA GOLD MEMBER SCAM
Interestingly, I also learnt that Yahoo has a 40 percent stake in Alibaba Corp. and Alibaba runs the Yahoo China business. All of a sudden, the phrase “a web of lies and deceit” seems like a twisted universal that exists in parallel to ours, like in a movie!
Henrimark 12:04 am on June 17, 2008 Permalink |
Jan
Before what happened to me, I never knew about this situation.
In Alibaba I found once a saxophone seller, which was not a truthpass member….but I bought a sample (payed via paypal) and I received on time and perfect. Their name company is DELICK….they are very good manufacturer from Taiwan..
Also, after the report of Ahmed, I informed Alibaba about Parsons company, and Alibaba returned to me informing that they will be deactivated from their site. (is it so simple? – to me it seems strange….too fast to enter, too easy to leave), but it is a small victory, no doubt….
Below follows Alibaba returned email:
ahmed nour 7:19 pm on June 17, 2008 Permalink |
yeah thats great man.
Well i am still in contact with that guy…..
Hes waiting 4 a 15,000 $ exchange and i made him type more than 9 “FAKE” invoices. ha ha ha
he just mailed me today:
I contacted parson’s music to through their site and i reported the incident but i got no answer…:S
ahmed nour 7:19 pm on June 17, 2008 Permalink |
TOO*
Jan Shim 9:01 pm on June 17, 2008 Permalink |
Ahmed Nour,
The need to get even is a natural knee jerk reaction. I’m completely sympathetic to the situation you’ve both found yourselves in. A tit for tat approach solves nothing but creates animosity. Cut your losses and move on. Lesson learnt.
Henrimark 8:13 am on June 18, 2008 Permalink |
Yes, for a while I was still receiving the same message from them….but in my last message I informed them that they would fall again…….
Now, as we cannot do anything else, it is time to rise again, clean up the powder and walk….but now, much more expert than ever…
Jan Shim 9:07 am on June 18, 2008 Permalink |
There’s only one other thing you (can) do and that’s to make sure you duly alert your family members, co-workers and friends about the situation so future mistakes can be avoided. You’ve paid a price for the lesson now is the time to spread your wisdom by educating others.
ahmed nour 10:23 pm on June 19, 2008 Permalink |
This is parsons music store response:
Thats sumthing they should at least do
…..
Jan Shim 5:53 pm on July 1, 2008 Permalink |
Today my blog stats picked up a discussion on KORG Forums about a scam by the same people who pulled the wool over your eyes! There’s also an interesting email transcript between the Alibaba member (seller) ROCKTASTE.CO and a potential victim.
http://korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=35978
Henrimark 9:09 am on July 6, 2008 Permalink |
I alert everyone who are searching musical instruments at Alibaba.com……..today I was taking a look and some new companies have arrived there.
The funny thing is that these companies are from Hong Kong (the same as that one I wrote earlier), they say they are manufacturer, retailer, distributor, wholesaler, etc… since several years ago, but they do not have “trustpass profile”, do not have website, do not have address, sometimes they do not have even phone number…only a name.
Be very carefull !!!!!!! This is not a good first impression…..and I think scam is far from over….
Henrimark
Brazil
Jason 2:46 pm on September 20, 2008 Permalink |
They are active and targetting Asian American. I got a call today and you know what I will report them if they bother me again.
If you happen to receive such calls for survey, more importantly if you have no idea who they are, always, always say sorry I am not interested and hang up.
If they bother you, tell them you will report them to authority such as IC3.GOV and FBI.GOV if they continues.
Seriously, if they bother me again next day, I will report them immediately.
These scammers must be stopped!
Jan Shim 4:03 pm on September 20, 2008 Permalink |
Jason,
These scammers and their network have no conscience and without a traceable number you have no case. Consider yourself fortunate that you are not a victim unlike the gentleman who is mentioned in the email I received yesterday …
The knee jerk reaction I had was advising the writer to immediately notify the bank at which the money was wired but as it turned out, the money was transferred by Western Union which is believed to be untraceable. Western Union service are very popular with foreign workers due to their low fees, reliability and speed but perhaps at the expense of security!
Greg 4:58 pm on September 20, 2008 Permalink |
Jan is one of the smartest guys out there and came close to being scammed. Feel sorry for the person with an average iq
http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/693900
Greg
Jason 7:46 pm on September 20, 2008 Permalink |
Jan,
I feel so sorry for the person who fall victim to this con. There are lots of other people who might never heard about this con scheme and I am pretty worried for them.
To all,
As always if it is too good to be true, then it is probably a scam. I cannot imagine the amount of money cheated by these unscrupulous global con artists. I am very sure they will continue doing what they are good at. Honestly, they are pretty good and getting better with their conning methods. People just have to be very careful, especially if they speak the language you speak at home.
I can feel that the more money they launder out of the hard working ordinary people, they are putting themselves at higher chance of getting caught. I really want to read news reports where these chinese con artists are actually caught and punished. If you guys have any link to an article please share.
If you look at FBI web page, they are working their ass off to fight white collar crimes. Especially if it affects the ordinary people. Lots of global con artists with similar schemes have been caught somewhere in other countries and sentenced in the states, such as from Spain to name one. There are lots of pending cases related to global con artists. If more Chinese speaking US Citizens are affected by this crime, I can see that those chinese speaking con artists be put in jail for their crime. I really do want to see it happens.
Be safe, do not fall trap by these global con artists.
Thanks Jan for your informative website, it helps us a lot!
vincent 10:23 am on September 21, 2008 Permalink |
不法集团的诈骗手段层出不穷，专向贪小便宜以及希望快速致富的无知者下手，简单来说，天下没有白吃的午餐，若阁下被通知中奖、中大奖、中大大的奖，请不要开心，因为不参加抽奖何来的中将，或许，不法集团可能会用各种手段引你上当，但是最终的决定还是自己，小心谨慎最重要，不然再多的钱就只有送给人家而已。
Jan Shim 11:11 am on September 21, 2008 Permalink |
Jason
“There are lots of other people who might never heard about this con scheme and I am pretty worried for them.”
I am as worried for these helpless victims just as I am equally worried about the kids whose parents scam people for a living. I don’t think they do it for fun but rather what drives them is this GREED and UNREALISTIC get-rich ideas that have been hammered into their miserable lives. I feel sorry for their kids who are oblivious to the crimes their moms and dads are committing just so they (presumably) continue to live a life of UNDESERVED luxury.
As the US economy worsens, I suspect more people will be targeted and victimised by this financial crunch. The desire to have a financial security will just make people more susceptible to temptations (it’s just human nature). I have since received a “phone survey” call instead of a “lucky draw” approach. The best thing to do—hang up!
“Thanks Jan for your informative website, it helps us a lot!”
I feel it’s the right thing to do and the one thing that keeps me motivated is that this post has made a real difference to people’s lives judging from some of the responses that had been posted earlier. However, just looking at the stats of this post, it’s only generated 2,445 page views since Nov 2007. Meaning to say it has yet to reach enough homes, offices, mobile phones and whatever media is being streamed to get people’s attention ASAP.
You are more than welcome to use the button I have created to increase awareness on blogs you own or forum discussions just as Malaysian professional photographer Steven Leong has done so. I believe information is key but it’s just that most people are distracted by the daily grind to not pay much attention to them. At one time I used to receive dozens of Nigerian scams in my inbox but after I switched to Gmail, they are now automatically spam filtered.
http://shimworld.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/scam_alert.jpg (170 pixel across)
or include a link to your email signature
http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/hong-kong-scam-alert/
You know what would be really scary? It’s when scam syndicates begin recruiting members of various nationality to target different people other than the Chinese but I think that’s already happening one way or another.
Chui Tey 12:06 pm on September 23, 2008 Permalink |
Got called repeatedly too. They don’t give up.
Using a Hong Kong VOIP number
Mandarin Speaker in Hong Kong … how unusual.
Very tempted to post her phone number here…
Alan Chai 11:39 pm on September 23, 2008 Permalink |
I got called non stop last few days….The number appear are 5550800, 5550805. Its very annoying.. China girls mandarin speaking… Till i quarrel with her also don wan to hang up. Lastly she said ” ok la you busy !! busy till die la” very rude and hang up. Ever since that, she didn’t call back.. Thank god….
Jan Shim 10:07 pm on September 24, 2008 Permalink |
When you remain vigilant throughout the conversation, it’s a matter of time before they lose their cool. This confirms my suspicion that they are no longer in control thanks to widely publicized news on radio, newspapers, emails, websites, etc.
Lily Ann Sherman 11:49 am on October 21, 2008 Permalink |
I have been getting e-mails about these millions of dollars that I won from a lottery that picked my e-mail, it was coming from Dubai and then I get further e-mails from a bank in Hong Kong and cannot tell anyone or get in touch with the banks as it is illegal to do so. Some nonsense like that. I told them that they can deal with my attorney. If they wanted to I would give them his info. They said that they will give me some sort of a check card whereby I can withdraw $10,000 a day because I told them that I do not have any bank accounts or ATM cards. Told them to send me a certified check from a verifiable bank, etc. At first wanted me to send a check via fed-ex in the amt of about $900 or so dollars to cover the insurance. I told them that I send them nothing. Now I am awaiting an e-mail reply from a Sandra Johnson from g-mail about what they are going to do to get me the money. Ten to one, I will not get a response. THESE SCAMS COME OVER THE NET ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT. I will keep you posted as to how this plays out as I will NOT give them any of my personal info.
Jan Shim 1:20 pm on October 21, 2008 Permalink |
When you have not been victimsed by these scams, it’s entertaining just learning the lengths they would go to make the bait seem more realistic. Imagine the cat and mouse game the scammers and banks play to avoid detection. Sadly, not enough effort have been made to educate the public of the crime.
Jan Shim 8:15 am on October 28, 2008 Permalink |
JUST IN — PRETENDING TO BE YOUR LOCAL INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER ASKING FOR EMAIL PASSWORD THREATENING TO CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT!
Lisa 5:00 pm on November 4, 2008 Permalink |
OMG >_<” haha i live in Australia and the same thing has happened and it is the worlds most annoying things ever!!!!
This stupid lady who sounds like a 5 year calls and talks to me in mandarin and she asks stupid survey questions… and the first time i had no idea why she was asking me survey questions about her stupid company that i dont even know.( it was about watches)
And i guess i sounded very confused cos she called her “supervisor” or what ever powers lie above her and that new lady was like ” how old are you are you of legal age (18) yet” and i was like nope! and shes like oh okay anyone one home and im like NO
Amazingly this happens the next day.. the same lady calls me asks me the exact same questions gets to the end and goes … YOU SOUND YOUNG ARE YOU OF AGE YET? and im like omg u asked me this sooo many times.. on this second day she managed to call my house at least 5 times whcih i hung up everytime i hear her voice….
And they just keep calling and they ask for you name and all that and then because im not 18+ and they dont want me cos i cant do anything
they ask for my dad… had to tell them that my dad passes away and she just goes OKAY IS YOUR MUM HOME? and i tell her that my mums not home -_-’ and then inconsiderately they ask for my mum’s name and i was like ” I DONT KNOW” but how can i not know my mothers name x_x and such and such…
They eventually also tell you that their company wishes to expand to Australia (your country) and that by answering their survey you need to now give information as part of their database and then they tell you to watch television from such and such a time to see if you win for participating in their survey..
Then they call you congratulate you and tell you u win $200 000 American and that a few other people from such and such countries also won.. and that your country is so blessed that you have 2 people win from your country..
Then they ask for a handling fee O_O” of like a few thousand which is ridiculous and then they tel you to wire money through “wester union” and in this case to a “mr TUNG CHUNG PING” and they give you an ID number for HOngKong 216583373 and an address 2/F 495 NATHAN ROAD KOWLOON HONGKONG and such and such…
They tell you 2hours after you wire the money you will recieve your US$200 000
And then they tell you that they are sorry but you can’t get the money you need to give them a further HK$100 000 because you are not a resident of hongkong etc and such and such and they just keep calling when you tell them
NO im not interested i dont care i dont want your money ‘__’ and they keep calling!!!!
Jan Shim 10:16 pm on November 4, 2008 Permalink |
Liza, many thanks for the full length version of your personal encounter with the voice of satan! The sequence of your story and the ensuing thesis sounds like mine. As for the relentless calling, put the phone in silent mode and ignore it. When it happened to me, it was easy to tell, their VOIP calls had no Caller ID so I just refused to answer any of them and eventually they stopped.
But I do wonder. With people now more informed than before about these scams and banks including remitting centres such as Western Union taking preventative measures against them, what clever tricks have they come up to convince victims to pay to?
Paul 10:01 am on November 11, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Jan,
Thanks for your postings and also for Kenny Sia. I just looked into your website after googling for Hong Kong Scams.
I walked away from HK300,000 in prize money for a lucky draw that I never attended in Sydney becos I am in Melbourne. As per others, after happily thinking just maybe there is a little money coming through, as expected a hitch came up due to the regulations in Hong Kong and I am supposed to fork out AUD$6,000 for insurance etc. I told them that I think they are a fraud and I dont trust them. Hang up on them , they call back and after calling them a fraud and hanging up. havent received any calls so far for the last 2 hours. Wanted their details but their website is under construction – cant believe for a watch company (Pau Li) that has just celebrated its 10 years anniversary.
Maybe they know that I was going to check the identity of the person in Western Union etc.
Thanks for warning others and sharing your experience. Nowadays we need to be “WATCHful”…:-)
Cheers and God Bless
Paul Wan
marie 11:56 pm on November 13, 2008 Permalink |
I received a phonecall as well today- “Miss Yek” from Hong Kong regarding the the lucky draw of AUD247000 that i have won from a watch company that has celebrated its 10 years anniversary.
Miss yek sounds very friendly and helpful throughout the process and i almost trusted her. At first i was a bit unsure whether this is a scam, therefore, i called my sister in Malaysia for advice and she told me that this is definately a scam and many cases like this had happend in Malaysia and i musn’t trust them.
My boyfriend scolded Miss Yek when she called the third time and told her to stop doing this to innocent people. At the end, she got nothing to say and hung up the phone!
Dear friend, please be careful and don’t fall into their trap.
Cheers.
Marie
Jan Shim 11:43 am on November 14, 2008 Permalink |
Ah, one of the trappings in life, redefined, in a more literal sense of the word. I wonder (and I’ve been wondering a lot lately) which of the scams have been most effective. There are probably several dozens of various internet-SMS related scams around today and they all involved big ticket items such as the nice sound of a million dollars but in the case of the Chinese scam, they lowered the bar and offered to steal a few thousands from each victim at a time on the pretext of a payment security or deposit.
The media (newspaper and TV) should proactively warn their citizens to watch out for scams that are coming to a phone near them. It has happened to many and it can happen to you. I mean come on, let’s be realistic … we live in turbulent times and most of all we live in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and female callers do not generally speak with a mainland Chinese accent nor do local employers hire them to do so for the purpose of sweet talking (by now alarm bells should have gone off instinctively).
I was at a watch shop in town to get my car key’s alarm battery replaced and conversation regarding these Chinese scams started. For an elderly gentleman, he had just one wisdom to share and it doesn’t require any translation on the part of its meaning either. He said sighing, “the scammers cannot touch you as long as you’re not greedy.” Makes a hell lot of sense, wouldn’t you agree?
Ricardo 4:57 am on December 4, 2008 Permalink |
Hi please look into this site. http://www.hualiantourism.com
Received call about winning 2nd prize on websit. Required to sent $5000 US$.
Tay 6:28 am on March 10, 2009 Permalink |
Hi,this group of scammers is getting day by day better.Imagine being able to provide factual info as such websites & tel numbers. Having gone through a real encounter, I must admit that one can easily fall for it, due to the almost flawless setup. Fortunately, I didnt lose anything, other than confidence in mankind.
Call 1: was given a lucky draw number, invited for the live ceremony/ tune in to star chinese TV for live broadcast of charity show hosted by this ‘listed’ company called 環球商旅.
Call2: after a wk, informed that I had won 2nd prize BMW car of HKD500,000, will be offered a cash cheq since I am not a HK local. Transaction will be handled by a well known lawyer 李立達. Just need to bank in cheq and post return acknowledgment slip of prize received. Lady left contact number in case I needed help. No cheq arrived however. Due to the flawless setup, one might wonder if luck has striked.
Call 3: Cash cheq option is not possible afterall. Informed by ‘lawyer’ that HK locals need to pay 15% of cash prize to charity under HK law, foreigners however pay 3%. Informed that I need to go HK in person for all these paperwork. Of cos I said that I am not prepared to FLY. Lady said deadline for prize collection is the next day!(almost 3 wks from draw date).
Offer alternative after much ‘problem shooting’ for me: if company signs a support letter, I just need to deposit the 3% into the ‘designated charity account’, upon receipt, the balance of 97% will be credited into my nominated acct. Star chinese channel replied my email saying it has never ever hosted the charity show.
Hong Kong Scam! « Daily Rants 12:34 pm on March 17, 2009 Permalink |
[...] Hong Kong Scam! This is in realtion to one of the blog articles I saw online: http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/hong-kong-scam-alert/ [...]
It’s a scam! « Daily Rants 1:04 pm on March 17, 2009 Permalink |
[...] It’s a scam! This is in realtion to one of the blog articles I saw online: http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/hong-kong-scam-alert/ [...]
Edmund 11:10 pm on March 28, 2009 Permalink |
Recently I have received the call also, thanks for sharing this so important information!
Jan Shim 11:59 am on April 7, 2009 Permalink |
I received this from an Australian requesting me to pass it on to authorities. While I’m not associated with any law enforcement organizations, I’m happy to mention this here as a warning to anyone who might stumble upon this post to inform their friends and loved ones about the scam
Steven Leong 12:06 pm on April 7, 2009 Permalink |
So it’s no longer from Zimbabwe or Nigeria… now we are getting people who claim they are from Hong Kong… never ending story, I guess.
sarajane228 4:43 pm on April 9, 2009 Permalink |
the similar scam happens almost everyday in HK, not including people didn’t report to the police. When you walk down on the street, some prentending-like nice person will come up with many purposes, questionnarie, qualify to be a model (for photo shooting…etc), invite to join a lucky draw by a travel agent(ies). I just ignore them and walk away.
Currently, they have another way to cheat old people’s money by calliing the parents that they have imprison their child because the child owe them a certain amount of money. The gangsters will ask for the parent’s cell phone right away, call up and keep on talking all the way to the bank, to make sure the old parents are not able to have any clarification by calling other parties. Nowaday, the staff work in the bank have taughty to pay high alert to those old people come to withdraw a certain amount of money. This really help in some cases.
Living in HK, same as others in other big cities, we learnt to be smart, protective…..and cool
Sophia 7:05 am on April 10, 2009 Permalink |
I have just received the similar phone call last week. Now I win $150,000 US dollars. My number is A25966.
http://www.baolongdz.hk.cn/hdxc.asp
This time, her name is 杨曼佳.
Thanks for sharing this information.
Sophia in 旧金山, USA
Fengus 11:05 am on April 28, 2009 Permalink |
I also experienced similar events, Thank Goodness I did some research, while they told me ‘you won 2nd prize’. through the warnings from various government websites, I realised that ‘never send your money away’ is the right thing to do, but I was still curious because they haven’t ask me to pay any forms of payment at this stage. so I played along till they dropped the ‘bomb’ $6250aud (of course they have lies and a tremendous amount of background story to back them up), so I stated that I’m don’t have such amount and ask for their help and willing to pay back in double, they just went crazy about how my disloyalty is hurting their feelings(I must admit she’s good at changing and avoiding different topics,lol, desperate attempt to cover up already exposed lies). and of course they give you lectures on how to take opportunities life and etc..(shifty bast**ds). I got sick of their lies and told them that I’m sure that this is a scam, eventually they give up on me and offer me time to think this through and call them back when I regain my conscience and give them my $6250. yerh right lol,now all I have to make another bank account.
these scammers take small steps at a time and tell a lot of half-lies(partly true), and I was surprised by the amount of background stories they prepared, thankfully they didn’t take any pennies off me, and thank for all those people above sharing their tragic experiences in detail, thanks Shimworld, and all the victims
A scam. « Daily Rants 3:29 pm on May 19, 2009 Permalink |
[...] By wysays This is in relation to one of the blog articles I saw online: http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/hong-kong-scam-alert/ . What happened to me was extremely similar. Luckily I was smart enough. I didn’t even think [...]
Francis 11:19 pm on May 21, 2009 Permalink |
I got call from Hong Kong somewhere as “Withheld” said that I am one of the three lucky guy win 150 thousand US dollar.
Ask me to contact Mr. Lin, Jing Hua at #68 FL 18 Gongdong Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Tel. 011-852-3078-3337.
Who will be so lucky! What a joke… …
Jan Shim 2:58 pm on June 15, 2009 Permalink |
SCAM UPDATE: MOBILE PHONE WHOLESALE
Beware of people who cannot spell their name correctly !
sarajane228 12:27 am on June 19, 2009 Permalink |
not selling Rolex anymore??
Forward the email to me if you want me to report to HK police
k 3:04 pm on June 25, 2009 Permalink |
I just experience the same scam this morning!
A china lady called ‘Liu Ming’ claiming she is calling from a ‘Bao Li’ watch company at 370 Nathan road kow loon. Hong Kong.
Day 1 – called to do a survey.
Day 2- called to say I won 200000USD. need my ID and bank account.
I gave her medicare card number and a bank account with 11 cents in it.
Day 2- called to say I need to transfer handling fees/charges…I hung up.
I hope they won’t use my medicare card to do anything illegal.
My brother emailed me your story. Thanks for sharing your story.
I have to say they are really prepared for all the questions I asked, they seemed so real. I had doubts when the first time they called, but they seemed so convincing…etc…I am glad I didn’t fall for it.
coxy 3:03 pm on July 17, 2009 Permalink |
I got this call from HK too but is different company telling just the same thing and I won 380K HKD , i just go along with them until they said that HK government stated a law that I have to get some kind of paperwork to protect me (very strange) that is some kind of insurances that will pay me back if i lost my money in the way of transferring. and i have to pay 3% of the whole sum to get the paperwork done. I said i was just a student and i don’t have any money, than she said i must think of way and she will help me by reporting to her manager about my situation. Did HK government did this kind of Law? Very suspicious… I got this kind of call 2 time already… how to get off their list? very frustrating hearing their voices…
David Cheok 6:42 pm on July 26, 2009 Permalink |
Those that call, I just say politely ‘No, thank you, not interested’
Those that email, goes straight into google’s superb spam filter…
Then i enjoy the rest of my day…
Monica Yong 1:35 am on July 27, 2009 Permalink |
So typical of a scam, red flag in capital letters. Thank you for your detailed journal of occurrent. Here in the US we have the National Do Not Call, by signing up online with the federal gov. you list your phone numbers where they’re blocked from the telemarketers for 5 years. You need to update at the end of every 5 years.
Yong Chiang 6:10 pm on August 20, 2009 Permalink |
hi there, luckily i found this post.
i was also being called by this lady a few weeks ago and they told me to participate in a tele survey or sth. then i ans her and helped her with the survey. the about a week later, she called again and told me that i eligiable to particiate in thier company lucky draw and so she give me my no. A6118 and told me to catch Channel New Asia on 31th july to watch the programme, the show also be casted by some celebrity. of course, i didnt bother to watch the show.
Last week she called and said i won the 3rd prize of $950000HK which convert to $190000 SGD. she asked for my account no and particular and so i gave her everything. She was quite impress that i was so young, age only 20 and had win myself such a lump of money.
Yesterday she called me and comfirm my particular say that she will sent to the company accounting and process my winning.
Today she called me and told me to go the my back and check at 12pm, saying the money will be transferred in by that time. kinda happy for myself as i thought wow, so lucky? 190000 just dropped to me. Checked my account at 1230pm and no money was in. she called at around 1pm and told me that there is some error in transferring. this is because hong kong govt only allow $50000hk transaction etc etc.
so i need to pay like 2.1%(which is like $3990 SGD) of the winning to set a safe transfer account which then verify that the winnning is not some legal transfer of money. She also mention that i will be able to get back my money after the winning money has been transferred to me, so i actually does not have to pay a single cent. She mention she will get a legal back account which has no affination with their company to help me with the procedure, so i just need to go to the local bank to transfer the money.
I was quite into what she said as it all seem quite real, but thinking that i needa pay nearly $4k and its kinda risking and so i asked if she had her company website and so i can go and take a look. she then said that the website doesnt put up the winnier of the draw and give me this http://www.cr.gov.hk, their company no. 0149792 , for me to check that their company is legally regristered and so i don need to worry.
luckily i read this post and i shld really believe that it was a scam and thanks goodness i had not fallin the trap.
Jan Shim 9:53 pm on August 20, 2009 Permalink |
Yong Chiang,
Thank you for taking the time to share your account. Scam cases have become very rampant in recent times and I’ve forwarded this post via Twitter and Facebook to remind folks about this quick rich scam!
Rain 12:57 pm on September 1, 2009 Permalink |
hi Yong Chiang,
I got the 100% exactly the case as you NOW (while I am typing). I am still wonder, considering whether to believe, so i check the web. Luckily I read your case. But, they really sound so REAL and frankly, I am so tempting to believe. How…? can you contact me? My msn is (passage.com@hotmail.com). Waiting for you… thks.
Jan Shim 3:41 pm on September 1, 2009 Permalink |
i’m presently on assignment in Makati, Manila. For some reason my phone (Nokia E71)’s wifi isn’t very compatible with the free or paid internet so … I’m presently connected to one that surprisingly works. There’s no reason you should even be comtemplating this. It’s a scam that’s all you need to know!
Yong Chiang 10:30 pm on September 7, 2009 Permalink |
hahaha think just dont believe will be better, greed kills.
i was quite comtemplating to believe them at 1st, but ya, they called me a few days ago to ask me if i still want to claim my winning, saying that it will be a waste if i dun claim it etc etc. but ya, no way im gonna fall into this trap =)
u can find me at wazzap_devil11@hotmail.com
bw 5:25 pm on September 8, 2009 Permalink |
its a scam, confirmed. I received the same bull as yong chiang, right down to the CR and prize winning. waiting for them to call back again to give them hell.
Yong Chiang 1:37 pm on September 13, 2009 Permalink |
yea! shld give them real hell! =)
Nicholas 10:06 am on September 24, 2009 Permalink |
I got a phone called from 宝格钟表公司. She told me I won USD 200000, so I gave her all my details including my bank account. So I cheked my money next day but money hasnt come in. Then another person from the same company phoned saying the government doesnt allow such big amount of money to be transfered into international bank account, so i gotta go to my local post shop to bank in the money around USD6000 for some procedures. Similar case to Yong Chian. Luckily I didnt fall into the trap. They even gave me phone number which is 0085230788273…. Now i worried that I gave them my account number, what will they do about it
Nicholas 10:30 am on September 24, 2009 Permalink |
Oh i got the same case as Paul 3:01 pm on November 11, 2008…
LUCKY i read all of the comments here…
Useful website indeed, will spread around to create awareness
Thanks to everyone for sharing the infos!
Jan Shim 11:44 pm on August 25, 2009 Permalink |
I received an email of what appears to be a another scam USA VISA LOTTERY targeting folks who seek the promise of “travel to the U.S. and start a new life and work” and how you are among the 55 lucky winners in their annual visa program which scans millions of email addresses across the world.
Read more: http://shimworld.wordpress.com/files/2009/08/usa-visa-scam.jpg
Aria 1:22 pm on September 18, 2009 Permalink |
Hi Jan!
I read with interest on one of your article wrt “SCAM”. At the moment I am experiencing this – very annoying!,
The first call started on 16th sept around 9.08pm under the guise of “unknown”. I thought it was an international call lines. I answered it and heard a male’s voice looking for someone…i didnt catch the name. I told him wrong number and hung up!
At 9.15pm, # 5300238 called me. I answered it and no voice at the other end, so i hung up. I didnt answer the call when the following numbers were used: +447878864769, 5550805, 5300902, 5300237. However, today I was so fed up with their persistent call with the number 5550800, i answered them “stop calling”! and hung up. This was followed with another call under the guise of “unknown”. It was at this time i decided to google the number and I stumble upon your website. Amazing how they can wreck me within 2 days with different numbers each time!
Next time I will just have to ignore! and I hope this stops!
Just fyi,
Aria
Dolly 3:43 pm on October 8, 2009 Permalink |
Hi Jan, Thanks for your post. I almost got scam the same way and it just happen. Means they have not stop it, even worst if this is another copy cat company.
Here’s my story. I got a call also by a lady who sound like from mainland china, her name is 许慢心 she said i have bought some electronic product either from sony or panasonic and was entitled a lucky dip 2000 was selected from singapore, 2000 selected from malaysia and 2000 from Hong Kong. I got 3rd prize together with 3 other people. Total cash price of HKD$650,000.00. The other 2 from HK already got their prize money on the spot when the TV programm was air on CCTV on the 13 of sept 2009, and even the Malaysia winner also got his money, now they are wondering how come after so long i did not claim my prize, so They call me up to check. So I ask her how do you varitfy that the winner is me when u never ask me for my identity number or passport number. She could not give me a very good reply, reply to keep saying that is it I don’t believe her. She say my name is correct and my phone number is correct right so it must be me. She also say that i have a lucky number 37527 which they pick out form the draw. It’s their company 18 year anniversary draw. While talking to me on the phone trying to convince me that she understand that there are lots of scam company out there and it’s only normal that i don’t believe her, she also put me on hold and answered another phone call which a customer call in to order some products from them. Company name is 日晨有限公司, address is 九龙湾道，158-160号，吉心大厦, 5 floor and 6 floor. Phone number: +85230783335. Finally to a point i ask her what she need from me? Is it first i must give her some money first. She ask for my bank account number, full name and birthday. Which i also gave her thinking that it’s no harm. She end to call by telling me that once i receive i will believe and must call her to thank her, even if next time i go HK must go buy her dinner, even ask me have i thought of how to spend this money. She also tell me i have to pay a 15% of my price money for HK goverment tax. So when the prize money is converted to Singapore dollars i should get S$118,900.00, the Tax i need to pay to HK is S$17,835.00. But i only need to pay this tax one week after i have received the money. Sounds ok so far right.
Day 2: The so call manager a male called me to double check my bank account number, name and birth date, Than told me he will go to the bank to remit the money to me right away and ask me to go to the bank one hour later to check and print out an account balance and fax it to them so that they can proceed with the tax form…. As you can guess i wait checking my the ATM every 2 hours but nothing happen.
Day 3: I have already given up hope that this is for real, but still decided to call 许慢心 to tell her i no longer believe her and that she is fake, but when i call, she act shock to hear that i have not gottan my money, she say she thought i already got it and happily spending it. After hearing form me she say she will double check with her manager. By 4pm she call back and told me that the bank has close but they will check and her manager will get back to me the next day.
Day 4: She call me again, this time to tell me that the bank rejected the transfer because I am not a HK citizen so in order to pay the HK tax i got to authorise their company to pay this tax for me. And to do that, i have to make a 4% payment of my prize money S$4756.00 to this accounting firm appointed by HK Goverment. Company name 世华国际联合律师事务所 address: 香港九龙旺角大厦12 floor. Account number : 7860-0362-4888 name of account : Wan Yu Ng Lung. Bank name: Hang Seng Bank limited. When i ask how come the account name is not the company name, and is there any document they can fax me to show me that this amount i remit over is for what purpose, for more information about both the company and what are their english name… she don’t dare to review anymore.
At the end she still call me and say wanna give you money but since u don’t believe can don’t remit this S$4756.00 and give up my price money. I said fine. I don’t want the money.
For readers who read this post by me, please don’t get scam by these people be extra careful, if you wanna check does their company exist you can go to this website by HK goverment to check. http://www.cr.gov.hk/en/home/index.htm than click on the bottom first icon that says ” company informantion check” than follow the instruction and type in the company name and you will know if which ever company really register themself in HK or not. I have also for Jan’s advise and email to Hang Seng Bank about this matter, if i do get a respond from them be sure i will post it here for everyone to read.
Thanks
Almost victim
Dolly Soh
Sean Yap 10:33 pm on October 13, 2009 Permalink |
Hey guys,
chk dis out, a similar case
http://g-inxane.blogspot.com/
Im also almost a victim. Thank god I check with 3 other bank officers b4 any further action
CC 5:40 pm on December 2, 2009 Permalink |
Thank you for this website because if not i had check before wire the money, i would been a victim of scam.
Few weeks back, someone from nowhere called my cellphone in US and asked me to participate in a survey. I am thinking since she asked some general questions, may be i should just helped her out. SHe told me that there would be a carnival next week and i should participate. I said i am not interested and hanged up on her.
This morning i received a phone call from HK telling me that i had won a USD150k cash prize from the telephone survey. She called form Gailen Tec group and told me that i had won a cash prize off usd150k. She asked me why i did not attend the carnival and reclaim the prize. The reason their company was giving out the prize was to promote their electric goods. They just hoped that after i claim the prize, i would promote for their company. Nevertheless, she said the company had saved the prize for me and what i need to do is to call her team leader for futher details. She got the particular from me including my name, dob, bank account and a valid ID.
I called the team leader as told and when i called they said she was busy and 30 minutes later, the team leader congratulated me and tell me how fortunate that i had won the cash prize and she again confirmed particular with me and said she needs to process my winning prize. She share her personal life with me and told me that she was a divorcee and now worked in HK, had one kid and bla bla bla. She then told me to wait for her call since she need to get her manager to approve my prize claim.
Hour later, she told me that my winning prize had been approved and she had to asked the lawyer and auditor how to wire the cash to me. Throughout the entire conversation, there was always another phone call whereby she asked me to hold and let me listened to the entire conversation to make the scam so real. It seems she was so busy and another prize winner called her and thanked for her help. Also, she received phone call from auditor telling her how i shld proceed with my claim. She even provide me with a temporary account number and password with the Bank of HK & Macau, so i could verify my information. Sure enough, this scammer provide the bank phone number and when i keyed in the account number and password, it appear that there was a balance of 150k.
Too good to be true right?
Then, she called again and tell me HK government had a new money-laundering act and require all wire transfer money to oversea to be monitored and for this purpose, their company auditor’s had provided an independent insurer to insured the sum of monies and to ensure that I was the winner and the monies was legitimate She said i need to fork out $4k for the security account and auditor fees. She requested me to wire the money into a Western Union account with the name of ZongMiau Pan. She requested me to go to the white people so the transfer of fund would be faster. She kept pestering me and did not give me time to think. I keep asking her how do i confirm whether this is true and i would get my cash prize money. She guaranteed that i wld receive the monies withtin 2 hours after i wired the monies. I said i could not trust her. Then she threatened me, if that the case, i better not to claim the prize.. This is surely a tactic to cause victim to panic and fear that they would not receive the prize.
I did as what she said and went to Western Union to wire the monies. So fortunate that i did not had additional ID and the clerk rejected my application to send money out.
So i called her and tell her what happened, she insisted me to go to different branch to wire the money so no additonal ID is required. I told her that it would be better if i just get the ID from home. She agreed and told me to call her when i wired the money again.
I went home and think about the entire episode. It seemed it happen so fast and the lady keep wanting me to wire the money today. I felt something was not right.
So, i decided to check the internet and came across this blog. When i read what SHinmoworld written, i knew that i was a victim of fraud. I really thank god for his protection over me. All this thing happen because of GREED. Thank God for giving me wisdom not to proceed with the transaction. God actually did that by causing me not to bring the ID to Western Union.
The lady kept calling me when i did not call her. She called me at least 10 times and i did not take her call. Finally , i played along with her when she kept calling me.
I told her that i was lost because i could not find the Western Union. Then i hanged up. When she called again, i told her that my husband did not allow me to do any wire transfer and i have no choice because i had no money. SHe was very concerned and she actually want to speak to my husband and convince us that this is a lifetime opportunity. I said we rather lose the money if we have to paid the 4k. Finally, she gave up on me. I did not receive her call anymore for now but if she still call me tomorrow , i would tell her that i had already lodged a police report with FBI and HK police.
Hope whoever read my blog will serve as a reminder and warning sign to those who encounter scam like this.
Thanks
Almost victim
CC
Jan Shim 6:05 pm on December 5, 2009 Permalink |
Hello Carrie,
I appreciate the detailed account you’ve shared with us. It looks like the same MO is still being deployed globally—really does make me wonder what their success rate is. Worse thing is they continue to use Western Union as bait. In Brunei, the WU tellers are training to look for suspicious/unusual remittance abroad. WU is very popular among overseas workers so I’m guessing this makes it a good platform to mask some “dirty” money. Because of your narrow escape, you have emerged wiser and stronger. I’m certain you’ve helped other “almost victims” from satisfying the scums.
Clare Tan 12:19 pm on October 16, 2009 Permalink |
Hey, i just received the same phone call as you did, and i nearly gave out my details. However, i told her that i did not have the details now and to call back later. I decided to google the number she gave me and I came to your post.
Now i know if she calls me back it is a scam. I really almost believed her.
Thank you so much for making this known.
Hong Kong price money phone scam « Salt * Wet * Fish 6:07 pm on October 22, 2009 Permalink |
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