As Hongkongers started getting their electronic consumption vouchers last Thursday, Octopus cards appeared to have become new targets by pickpockets.
More than 6.3 million residents get their hands on the first chunk of consumption vouchers worth HK$5,000 starting Thursday, among whom many chose to collect their vouchers via Octopus.
Octopus cards can store at most HK$3,000 after users collect their vouchers, an amount several times more than what people would normally save in their cards.
Since last Friday, several netizens posted online that they have lost their Octopus cards.
A resident in Tai Po posted on Facebook that he shopped at a supermarket last Thursday and paid with Octopus card.
After that, he continued his shopping but found a suspicious man following him. The man did not appear to be a shopper, and he suspected the man wanted to steal his Octopus card.
The netizen continued that he could be over-sensitive, but called upon the others to be careful and pay extra attention to their valuables.