Police on Sunday said they smashed a syndicate that allegedly made use of deepfake technology to conduct investment scams. Officers raided two locations in neighbouring industrial buildings in Kowloon Bay last week and arrested 31 people, aged between 20 and 34. Police said the total amount of losses exceeded HK$340 million. They said the syndicate had been operating for more than a year, and the victims were mainly from outside of Hong Kong, such as Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States. Fung Pui-kei, superintendent with the Commercial Crime Bureau, said the syndicate made use of deepfake technology to build relationships online. "They also make use of the new technology, like AI face-swapping technology, to [pretend] to be some good-looking ladies and gentlemen to induce potential victims, gain their trust and develop into romance relationships in order to commence the romance scams," he said. Once gaining their trust, the syndicate persuaded people to send money to a fake investment platform, police said. During the raids, officers seized HK$100 million worth of suspected criminal gains, including cash, handbags and luxury watches. Most of those arrested said they were unemployed, while some were university students. Officers said five of those held, among them core syndicate members, have been charged with conspiracy to defraud. They'll appear at Eastern Court on Monday,. The other suspects were released on bail. Last October, the force took down a syndicate operating in a similar way, and police are trying to determine if the two cases were connected.
