Letter to the Editor: Scams 5C Wu Ka Ho
Dear Editor,
Recently, more and more people have fallen victim to scams. Scams remain rampant in Hong Kong and even the Police had put extra effect to deter them. There are some reasons for the skyrocket of the illegal crime.
To commence with, human greed helps cultivate scams. At the beginning, con artists are always shown as businessmen or rich people to build a good image in order to earn people’s trust and sink their vigilance. Then, they will invite the victim to make investment to their “big project”. They claim that the investment is low-risk, profitable and the return is quick. If the victim is caught by the lure, the scammers will give valuables to the victim. Some people are so greedy that they will give huge amount of money for a huge profit. Unfortunately, after the investment, the scammers will lose contact and disappear with the investment. The loss is great due to human greed.
Moreover, what we can’t neglect is that people fall victim because they are superstitious. Scammers use superstition to get people off from money. This kind of scammers usually aims at the elderly as targets because many of them are devoted to traditional religions. They earn the victim’s trust by pretending giving hand to them. Monks, priests and even gods are the three common identities they use. They will give spiritual blessings to the victim after they receive money or jewellry. Finally, they run away with the valuables. Commonly, the victim loses contact the scammers.
Scammers change their tactics rapidly. In my opinion, people can prevent from falling victim by two different ways—to stay alert and be educated.
Many people do not pay enough alertness when meeting strangers. We have to know that tricksters are skillful enough to exploit human weakness like greed and superstition. So, never to give any information of oneself to strangers can help. Also, people should can the police when they suspect someone is a trickster. Simple moves may help prevent us from falling prey.
Elderly education is also crucial. The elderly are the main target of fraudsters. They should know more about how to deal with fraudsters, such as double checking, identifying and confirming the information. Undeniably, even the elderly are educated, they may still fall prey to scammers. The best way is to consult who they trust when they find anything suspicious.
More and more people fall victims to scams nowadays. If the problem gets worse, it may influence the image of Hong Kong. I hope the police will put more effort on scams.
Yours faithfully,
A. Wong
Fo Tan