Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee announced Monday that there was a near 30 percent increase in crime in the previous year compared to 2022, most of which was caused by the increase in fraud. He also added that the overall rate of solved cases was 31.1 percent, with the rate increasing to 46.2 percent by excluding fraud cases. Siu stated that there were 38,824 fraud cases recorded in 2023, a 42.6 percent increase compared to 2022 and a near quadruple increase compared to 2018's 31,452. Most of the fraud cases included online shopping scams, investment scams, phishing scams, job employment scams, social media scams and telephone scams. In light of the rise of scam cases, he stated the police are increasing enforcement actions along with intercepting scam money, scam forecest, etc.

Source: The Standard January 30, 2024 10:30 UTC