Mrs Chung thanked the Police for mounting a vigorous publicity campaign against street deception that had led to alert bank staff thwarting an attempt by three swindlers to cheat her.

She recalled that she had been approached by three people who engaged her in a conversation during which they claimed that they could arrange "spiritual blessings" that would relieve her of the acute rheumatic pain from which she suffered.

The plausible swindlers convinced her to withdraw all her savings for the "spiritual blessings".

She then visited two banks in an attempt to draw $300,000, but alert staff advised her to contact her family first, and subsequently informed the Police of the incident.

"Our Crime Prevention Officers have been paying liaison visits to banks. During the visits, they briefed staff on the modus operandi being adopted by street deception gangs and supplied them with publicity materials," NTS Regional Crime Prevention Officer Ms Chau Sinping told OffBeat.

Ms Chau added that there had been widespread publicity about street-deception throughout New Territories South between February and May this year.

The visits to banks and the follow-up newsletters had been well received and have already produced results, she continued.

"In the last few months several cases of suspected street deception attempts have been reported by alert bank staff. As a result some intended victims lost nothing," she said.

But the Police in New Territories South are not content to rest on their laurels. The fight goes on and new initiatives have already been launched:

1. In August, Tsuen Wan Regional Crime Prevention Unit officers and youth volunteers from the Juvenile Protection Service visited elderly people living-alone to deliver crime prevention messages.

2. A youth drama team under the NTS Juvenile Protection Section has been set up to deliver anti-street deception messages in support of Regional Crime Prevention Units.

3. Anti-street deception posters have been displayed at all MTRC stations in the first week of September.

Wan Chai elderly given a friendly warning

Wan Chai District held an 'Anti Deception Seminar' in August for more than 120 elderly residents. It was attended by Wan Chai District Acting Commander, Ms Chang Mo-see; Assistant District Officer, Mr Donald Wong; District Fight Crime Committee Chairman Mr Chan Wing-kam, and District Council member and Concern for the Aged Working Group Chairman, Ms Anna Tang King-yung.

During the whole of last year, Wan Chai Police District received 13 reports of elderly people being cheated by 'gangs' of fraudsters approaching them on the street. This year, that figure had been reached by the end of July.

To reduce, and hopefully eliminate this type of crime, officers from the Crime Prevention Bureau explained to the participants the modus operandi of the gangs practicing the 'blessing' ploy, the 'money-dropping' ploy and the 'fake gold' ploy, which are now the most common forms of this type of crime.

The elderly folk were urged to report to the Police all attempts at fraud, successful or not, that they heard about.

Mrs Chung says thank you for publicity campaign that saved her from fraudsters