Wham, Bam, Thank You Scam

Scam artists love Hong Kong.

So many scams are running that the government has put up posters to warn people to be wary of approach. Typically, the victims are elderly. The scams are inventive and revolve around either gaining sudden wealth or performing a service. Many people lose their life savings.

The Hong Kong Police Crime Prevention Bureau has notified the public of these scams. These are but a few:

· Superstitious: Elderly people are approached by swindlers posing as "spirit-doctors" who claim they can rid a home of demons. Others claim they can cure illnesses or bestow good fortune. They suggest the victim needs to give them all their money and jewellery as part of the cleansing. Once they do, the swindlers disappear.

· The Wad Squad: This is a tag-team scam involving dropped money, with two possible conclusions. This one is run a lot in mainland China. Near an ATM the first scammer will "accidentally" drop a huge wad of cash in clear view of his mark.

Scenario 1: A second scammer picks up the wad, sticks it in a bag, then asks the mark if he wants to split the cash. Number One returns, accuses Number Two of stealing it and threatens to call the cops. Number Two will then hand the bag to the mark and ask him to give his jewellery up as collateral until the matter is resolved. Once he does, the tag-team splits, and he finds the bag filled with nothing but paper.

Scenario 2: The offer to split is made, as in the first scenario. When the mark agrees, #2 suggests they adjourn to a private spot to make the deal. Number One arrives and makes the accusation of theft. Number One demands that the mark return his half of the cash, which he never received. If the mark refuses to pay, he finds himself surrounded by thugs, who force him to go to an ATM to get cash from his account. Worse, they steal his ATM card and force him to give up his PIN.

· All That Glitters Is Gold: Cheats approach an elderly woman and produce a real gold ring. They tell her they found more of them at the construction site where they work, but can't pawn them because they're working illegally and do not have Hong Kong ID cards. The lady has the ring appraised, finds out it's genuine and valuable, and then agrees to buy the other rings for anywhere up to $100,000. The other rings turn out to be bogus.

· Nigeria, Iraq, Philippines, South Africa ... e-mail Offer: The victim gets an e-mail suggesting they can gain a portion of illicit funds of [insert name of country here] if he will furnish a bank account number in which to assist in the movement of said funds. It's the old "something-for-nothing" trick. The victim has his bank account cleaned out, leaving him with nothing. In return he gets an education in being conned.

· The Ketchup Gang: They target individuals carrying bags in public places. One culprit will surreptitiously stain the victim's clothing with ketchup or some other condiment, then inform the victim of the mess. While the victim is distracted into cleaning the stain, other gang members will make off with the bags he put down.

· Money Laundering: A sucker is approached with an offer that sounds too good to be true. The gang claims to have acquired stacks of US$100 bills that have been coated by the FBI to appear as regular paper, for use in paying underground organisations. The gang offers to wash the "cash" with a special chemical that would convert it to its original form, and in return all they ask is a few original US$100 bills.

A second version of this scam sees two gangs claiming they have millions of US dollar bills that had been printed by the French government in a bid to destroy the US economy. The bills are coated in a special chemical to render them as ordinary paper. When the gangs demonstrate the washing process, they get two original US dollar notes from the sucker to compare with a single special note. As they run all three bills through their chemical bath, the paper turns into a US$100 bill. One gang wants cash for the paper and more for the chemical to wash it. The other gang asks for up to US$20,000 in original notes.

· Pickpocket Police: A pickpocket lifts the victim's wallet. Later, he gets a phone call from the "police", claiming they've recovered his wallet. All they need is the PIN for his bank card so they can confirm his identity as the owner of the wallet, by checking the PIN with the bank.

These are by no means all the scams operating in Hong Kong, but they're representative of what's going on. Tourists aren't subject to most of these, but that doesn't mean they should let down their guard.

If anyone approaches you on the street with any offer, get away from them.

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