A Hong Kong businesswoman lost a massive HK$41 million (US$5.24 million) in just six months after she was conned into using a bogus cryptocurrency trading platform, the Post has learned.
Hong Kong police Inspector Leung Man-yee on Thursday said the 56-year-old woman’s financial losses included a HK$15 million loan she had taken out.
She added the fraudsters had orchestrated in-person transactions to lower the victim’s guard and deceive her into going along with the fraud.
Police said online investment scammers did not usually meet their victims.
“Between September 3, 2023 and March 5, 2024, the woman carried out 20 in-person transactions, amounting to HK$28 million, with one of the scammers and conducted another 22 transactions involving HK$13 million with another fraudster,” Leung said.
Officers from the Kwun Tong district crime squad arrested a 33-year-old man on Wednesday less than 24 hours after the woman made a complaint to police.
Police said they believed the man was one of the two fraudsters who carried out in-person transactions with the victim.
He was detained on suspicion of obtaining property by deception – an offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Hongkonger loses HK$7.1 million in cryptocurrency scam
Hongkonger loses HK$7.1 million in cryptocurrency scam
Leung said the victim was coaxed into connecting her e-wallet to the fake trading platform and revealing her account password.
She added that the scammers tempted her with large profits as bait to lure her into investing more money.
The businesswoman realised she had been scammed when she was unable to withdraw her money from the trading platform or contact the two men.
Leung said the public should use the force’s Scameter search engine, accessible through the CyberDefender website, to check for suspicious or fraudulent schemes.
The search engine has information to help users identify red-flagged web addresses, emails, platform usernames, bank accounts, mobile phone numbers and IP addresses.
Hong Kong finance manager loses HK$17.8 million in gold and crypto scam
Hong Kong finance manager loses HK$17.8 million in gold and crypto scam
Police have recorded a major increase in online investment frauds, with 5,105 reports last year compared with 1,884 in 2022.
Financial losses also jumped to HK$3.26 billion in 2023, up from HK$926 million the previous year.
The city recorded a 42.6 per cent increase in all types of deception to 39,824 reports last year from 27,923 in 2022 – an increase of 12,531 cases.
The amount lost went up by 89 per cent to HK$9.1 billion in 2023 from the HK$4.8 billion recorded the year before.
