Hong Kong police have arrested 11 alleged members of a fraud syndicate that stole HK$20 million (US$2.8 million) through online love scams from 99 people, including well-educated professionals such as a doctor, engineer and teacher.
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The force said on Tuesday a “significant number of men” had fallen victim to love scammers last month, and urged both men and women to be cautious when meeting new friends online, especially when “the conversation involves money”.
Senior Inspector Sung Ka-wai of the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau pointed out that while most victims in online romance scams were women, data from August this year showed that male victims made up a significant 35 per cent of the total.
“This shows that swindlers target both men and women, and their tactics are diverse. Even well-educated professionals can fall victim to online romance scammers,” he said.
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On Monday, officers arrested 11 people in a crackdown on a local fraud syndicate that swindled 99 local men, aged from 21 to 44, out of over HK$20 million in online romance scams in the past nine months.