Secretary for Security John Lee said the Police will step up publicity against scams after deception cases rose 18% year-on-year to 8,372 in 2018.

Speaking to the press after today’s Fight Crime Committee meeting, Mr Lee said there was an uptick in social media, e-mail and investment scams.

Social media deception cases rose 94% to 2,064, involving a loss of $500 million.

There were 212 cases of investment scam for the year, involving $1.77 billion, he said.

Reviewing the crime situation in 2018, Hong Kong’s overall crime was down 3.2% from 2017, with 54,225 cases recorded.

Falls were recorded in the categories of shop theft, arson, burglary, serious drugs offences and robbery, while the year saw a rise in homicide cases.