
Photo: Police dismantled two scam groups that offered “100% guaranteed preferential loans” and seized a large number of bank documents, electronic devices, bank cards and some cash.
[Ta Kung Pao News]Reporter Gu Zhuoxun reported: From the 17th to the 19th of this month, the police dismantled two local fraud groups that defrauded the government of “100% guaranteed preferential loans” and arrested 16 men and 7 women aged between 25 and 63, including the group’s mastermind and core members. The amount involved was about 31.7 million yuan. Some of the arrested people had triad backgrounds. A large number of bank documents, electronic devices, bank cards and some cash were seized during the operation. All of them were granted bail pending investigation. The police successfully intercepted 26.9 million yuan in fraudulent funds during the operation.
Applying for personal information under the pretext of low-interest loans
One of the groups submitted 20 applications for 100% guaranteed preferential loans in the name of individuals to local banks online from August 2021 to September 22, involving 1.6 million yuan. The group claimed to provide low-interest loans in the form of cold calls, and then used the borrower’s ID card copies and address proof and other information to create false documents and work certificates to apply for loans on their behalf, and charged the borrowers handling fees ranging from 5,000 yuan to 25,000 yuan.
Another fraud group submitted four loan applications in the name of a company to another bank between February and March this year, involving HK$30 million. In addition to claiming to provide one-stop loan applications online, the group also rented commercial units in Jordan and Wan Chai to provide loan consulting services, by helping applicants become directors of shell companies and applying for loans with false MPF contribution records; they would also produce false loan application documents for borrowers from trading and transportation companies with actual businesses, charging a handling fee of HK$20,000 to HK$90,000. The largest loan application was HK$8.2 million.