20 September 2023
The Immigration Department (ImmD) has all along been very concerned about phone scams involving scammers posing as immigration officers. It has come to the department's attention that fraudsters have recently impersonated immigration officers to make calls to members of the public. During the conversation, the fraudsters offered call recipients the names, titles, contact means, office addresses, etc of serving immigration officers for identity verification by visits to the concerned offices in person or by phone with a view to adding credibility to the scams.
The ImmD said its staff will call members of the public to process their applications with the ImmD based on individual circumstances. On the other hand, an ImmD spokesman reminded the public that the department has an appointment reminder service, and the department will not make any pre-recorded voice calls to members of the public who have not opted for the concerned service, nor will it transfer the calls to non-local authorities and then request the call recipients to provide personal information.
Members of the public must remain vigilant and cautious when receiving suspicious calls, and take the initiative to verify the identities of the callers instead of believing the callers hastily, or disclosing personal information arbitrarily.
If in any doubt, please contact officers of the ImmD by calling the ImmD's enquiry hotline on 2824 6111 or sending an email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk. Members of the public can also make enquiries to and seek assistance from officers of the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre by calling the 24-hour police enquiry hotline "Anti-Scam Helpline 18222".
Anyone suspecting a phone scam should immediately report it to the Police.