Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Warning for WhatsApp users as hijacking scams jump

rthk.hk · 15dShare

Police have issued a fresh warning over a sharp escalation in WhatsApp account hijacking scams, stressing that a recent dip in total monetary losses should not be mistaken as improved security. The force said it had handled 1,993 such cases between January and July, up 170 percent year-on-year. The seven-month figure already eclipsed the total of 1,669 last year. Victims this year reported aggregate losses of HK$146.3 million. While that was down 22.7 percent from the same period in 2025, authorities warned against complacency. Most victims suffered losses ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. But some were conned out of millions of dollars, or even more than HK$10 million. Chief Inspector Alvin Wong, from the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau, said the scammers relied on a simple trick. "We found that is nothing related to any new technology used by the scammer, they use the same technology by sending the push SMS," he said. "WhatsApp's got a very large

First report: Hong Kong WhatsApp hijacking scams surge 170% to nearly 2,000 cases — scmp.com, 15d