In the first seven months of this year, police recorded 2,020 cases of instant messaging account hijacking—1,993 of which involved WhatsApp—representing a surge of nearly 170% compared to the same period last year. Total financial losses amounted to approximately HK$146 million (about US$18.65 million). Fraudsters hijacked accounts to impersonate the owners and scam their friends and relatives; in some instances, they even used AI “deepfake” technology to synthesize voices for calls to family members. In one case, a businessman’s father had his account compromised and his voice imitated; voice messages were then used to trick the victim into making multiple transfers, resulting in a total loss of over HK$17 million.
According to a report by Ta Kung Pao, the police stated that deepfake technology has significantly lowered the cost of committing such crimes, making it difficult for the public to distinguish between real and fake voices based on sound alone, and urged citizens to exercise caution.