Fraud accounts for half of Hong Kong crime for first time, police say
Hong Kong police report fraud now constitutes half of all crime for the first time, with over 29,000 cases in the first eight months of 2026. Losses reached HK$5.2 billion, driven by telephone scams and investment fraud. Authorities urge public vigilance.
Fraud accounted for half of all reported crime in Hong Kong for the first time, with more than 29,000 scam cases recorded in the first eight months of the year, Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said.
The police chief also said August alone recorded a monthly high of 5,189 fraud cases. Total losses from scams reached HK$5.2 billion during the first eight months, with both the number of cases and financial losses rising from the same period last year.
Chow said telephone scams were the largest category, accounting for 27 per cent of all fraud cases. Investment scams caused the greatest financial losses, totalling HK$2.33 billion, or nearly half of the overall amount lost to fraud. Cases involving scammers impersonating customer service representatives also doubled from the same period last year.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority deputy chief executive Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang said the losses recorded in the first eight months were equivalent to victims losing about HK$15,000 to scams every minute. Yuen said common scams involved fraudulent investment schemes, intimidation and romance scams.
He urged members of the public to remain calm when receiving suspicious calls and to contact their banks or law enforcement agencies immediately if they were in doubt.