How Hong Kong deepfake scam group taught recruits to pass as rich, single women

Learning Japanese, playing golf and tasting red wine worth more than HK$100,000 (US$12,850) a bottle were among the topics of conversation prompts a scam syndicate taught recruits to help pass as rich, single women, Hong Kong police have revealed.

The chat-up strategies were among those recorded in notebooks seized by the force last week when officers arrested 31 people connected to a syndicate that used deepfake images of attractive women to lure victims into romance and investment scams.

Police said they had intercepted more than HK$34 million in scam proceeds as part of the operation.

“Syndicate members would teach new recruits how to approach victims and converse with them, such as getting to know the victim’s occupation, education level, financial goals and cryptocurrency investments,” Senior Michelle Inspector Fong Sze-wing of the commercial crime bureau said.

“They would also flaunt a wealthy lifestyle to fan the victim’s desires and gain their trust that the scammer was living a decadent life.”

Excerpts of notebooks seen by the Post revealed that youngsters eager to make fast money were recruited to convince victims living as far away as Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia that they were accomplished individuals with an eye for the finer things in life.