Mainland phone scam artist picks wrong target

A mainland con artist picked the wrong target for his phone scam and is now paying dearly for it.

Around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, according to an Apple Daily report, a police constable at the crime unit of Tsz Wan Shan police station answered a telephone call and heard on the other end of line the voice of a boy crying, "Dad, it's me! It's me!"

Then a man took over and told the constable that the voice he just heard was that of his son, who had been kidnapped. The man demanded HK$230,000 (US$29,665) for the boy's release.

Realizing that it was a phone scam, the constable played along and promised to deliver the ransom around 7 p.m. on Luen Wan Street in Mong Kok.

When a man showed up to take the money, he was immediately arrested by police officers who had been waiting for him.

According to police, the mainland man, surnamed Lin, 26, was found to be carrying a fake Hong Kong identity card.

He will be charged with “attempt to obtain property by deception” and “possession of forged ID card”.

The Kowloon East Regional Headquarters is following up on the case.

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TL/AC/CG