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Fiona Sun

WhatsApp account hijacking scams in Hong Kong surged by nearly 170 per cent to almost 2,000 cases in the first seven months of this year, with one victim losing as much as HK$12.2 million (US$1.55 million).
Police said the 1,993 cases logged from January to July represented a 169.7 per cent increase from the 739 cases recorded over the same period last year. The figure also surpassed the 1,669 cases recorded in all of 2025.
The cases over the first seven months resulted in losses of HK$146.3 million, down by 22.7 per cent from HK$189.2 million over the same period last year.
Despite the lower total loss, police warned that the threat was far from subsiding, noting that some victims lost between HK$1 million and more than HK$10 million.
“The rise in cases was related to the habits of our residents using these social media or instant messaging platforms,” said Superintendent Hui Yee-wai of the force’s cyber security and technology crime bureau.
“On the other hand, we have also seen that artificial intelligence is a factor. Every scam involved fake websites, while AI has made generating these fake websites significantly easier.”
WhatsApp account hijacking is a scam involving fraudsters impersonating friends and relatives or using fake WhatsApp websites to obtain telephone numbers and app registration codes.
Once they gain access to an account, they message the victim’s contacts to solicit money or extract personal information.
Chief Inspector Wong Cheung-hing said one case involved a 32-year-old man who fell victim to a WhatsApp hijacking scam in March.
The victim, who was planning to buy a property, received fake WhatsApp messages from scammers who hijacked his account and impersonated his property agent and lawyer. They demanded the victim pay a large deposit on the property, resulting in a total loss of more than HK$1.1 million.

In a separate case, a man lost more than HK$10 million after fraudsters hijacked his father’s WhatsApp account and impersonated his father using suspected AI-generated voice messages to scam the victim, demanding he make multiple transfers.
Wong said another WhatsApp account hijacking scam case involved a financial manager at an investment company who lost HK$12.2 million.
“Scammers would make seemingly plausible excuses such as a friend, supplier or business partner who was suddenly in urgent need of some funds, or needed to make a deposit,” he said.
He appealed to the public to be vigilant, including avoiding relying solely on WhatsApp messages to determine someone’s identity.
Residents should carefully verify the recipient’s account before transferring funds, regularly check linked devices on WhatsApp, and be mindful of personal information publicly available on social media, he said.
Besides WhatsApp, police also recorded hijacking scams on other instant messaging platforms.
The overall hijacking scams involving instant messaging accounts reached 2,020 cases from January to July this year, involving HK$150 million in losses.
The number of cases was up 154.1 per cent from the 795 cases recorded over the same period last year.
Among this year’s cases, 11 involved Telegram with losses of HK$3.7 million, and six involved Facebook with HK$18,000 in losses.
Overall, the force recorded 16,437 cases of technology-related crimes between January and July this year, with a total loss of HK$3.08 billion.
Police recorded 19,080 cases of technology-related crimes over the same period in 2025, with losses amounting to HK$3.64 billion.
Philip Chua, Asia-Pacific director of public policy for products at Meta Platforms, which owns WhatsApp and Facebook, noted the challenges posed by transnational criminal syndicates.
“Large transnational criminal syndicates are looking to profit in billions of dollars and they’re using all kinds of tactics, including interfering with broadcast powers, creating websites, trying to find ways to compromise people and to collect people’s personal information,” he said.
He said Meta was committed to protecting its users in Hong Kong through measures, including displaying more information about unknown callers and preventing suspicious links from appearing in chats.
“We are really seeing a very, very tough adversary. We want to make sure that the public is fully aware of what is happening, what they can do to protect themselves,” he said.


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WhatsApp account hijacking is a scam involving fraudsters impersonating friends and relatives or using fake WhatsApp websites to obtain telephone numbers and app registration codes. Photo: AFP

Police say victims lost HK$146 million in first seven months of 2026, with some suffering individual losses exceeding HK$10 million. Photo: Jelly Tse

Philip Chua (right), Asia-Pacific director of public policy for products at Meta Platforms, addresses the media alongside police. Chua says Meta is adopting measures such as displaying more information about unknown callers. Photo: Sun Yeung

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News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Police say victims lost HK$146 million in first seven months of 2026, with some suffering individual losses exceeding HK$10 million


Police say victims lost HK$146 million in first seven months of 2026, with some suffering individual losses exceeding HK$10 million.


Cybersecurity

WhatsApp

Hong Kong police

Meta Platforms

Hong Kong WhatsApp hijacking scams surge 170% to nearly 2,000 cases

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Police say victims lost HK$146 million in first seven months of 2026, with some suffering individual losses exceeding HK$10 million

Police say victims lost HK$146 million in first seven months of 2026, with some suffering individual losses exceeding HK$10 million