Tram tour celebrates 6th anniversary of Police Anti-Deception Coordination Centre

     While celebrating its 6th anniversary, the Police Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) organised a tram tour today (July 20). The Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee, and representatives of 16 public and private organisations (list of supporting organisations in the Annex) which have been working closely with Police in disseminating anti-deception messages were invited to officiate at the kick-off ceremony. The officiating guests later boarded the tram adorned with the latest anti-deception promotional messages and broadcasting anti-deception songs and information to travel from Sheung Wan to Causeway Bay. The guests, along with more than 40 SILVERSHIELD ambassadors, distributed anti-deception leaflets and souvenirs to the public in Causeway Bay with a view to raising public awareness of deception, thereby preventing them from being scammed.

     To step up combat actions against deception and raise public awareness of scams, the Hong Kong Police Force set up the ADCC under the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) with a view to consolidating all the relevant efforts of the Force and stakeholders in fighting and preventing the crime. Coming into operation on July 20,  2017, the ADCC performs the following major functions: to operate a round-the-clock enquiry hotline “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222”; to closely work with local financial institutions, overseas law enforcement agencies and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to intercept payments made by victims to minimise their pecuniary loss; to take intelligence-led enforcement actions and deploy Scams Response Team officers to intervene and stop on-going deception cases; and to co-ordinate Police resources and enhance liaison with stakeholders to formulate all-round anti-deception publicity campaigns.

     Since its establishment, the ADCC has received over 160 000 calls from the public, prevented 2 000 on-going deception cases and intercepted defrauded money as much as $11.79 billion. Moreover, with assistance from different units, the ADCC has mounted 632 operations and arrested 661 persons, involving at least 614 deception cases as at May 31.

     To better facilitate the interaction with the public and encourage organisations and people from different sectors in the community to help convey anti-deception messages, the CCB launched “Project SILVERSHIELD” in June this year, in which SILVERSHIELD ambassadors were recruited and trained in collaboration with various government departments, public and private organisations. The CCB also held a number of anti-deception events to spread anti-deception messages and promote “Scams are rampant; Tell everyone”.

     In an effort to step up anti-deception publicity to address the trend of deception cases, the ADCC will launch a series of major anti-deception promotional campaigns from late July to August. For more details about the anti-deception campaigns and the latest anti-deception information, please visit the ADCC’s website (www.adcc.gov.hk) or the official account on Xiaohongshu “Hong Kong Anti-Deception Coordination Centre” (xhslink.com/AVqgBn).