SCMP reported on May 4 that two senior Hong Kong citizens lost $1.3 million (HK$10 million) in separate scam cases involving crypto and mainland Chinese stocks.
The Hong Kong Police Department reports that reported cases of this type of online fraud increased by 92% in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Investment fraud in crypto
A 66-year-old businesswoman was scammed via WhatsApp in one case. The scammer pretended to be a cryptocurrency expert and advised her to invest in Tether (USDT) with the promise of large returns.
According to police investigations, the victim unwittingly provided the scammers with her personal information after filling out an online form.
The “expert” informed her that they required this information in order to pay her profits. The hackers, on the other hand, used this form to obtain sensitive information from their victims.
To gain her trust, the scammers first gave her HK$75,000 before stealing HK$4.6 million (590 Tether) from her wallet.
Between January 27 and March 31, the funds were stolen. In the meantime, another victim, a 71-year-old man, lost HK$5.15 million due to investment fraud.
According to the report, the fraudster pretended to be an employee of a financial investment platform and convinced him to download a bogus trading platform and invest in stocks of mainland Chinese companies. According to the instructions, the victim transferred the funds to nine bank accounts.
When he couldn’t access the platform to withdraw his money, he realised he’d been duped.
Online fraud on the rise
These two cases are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to online investment fraud in Hong Kong. According to the police, the number of reported cases of this type of fraud increased by 92% in 2022 over the previous year.
Furthermore, the number of employment scams in the city has increased, with 196 people losing HK$40 million (over $5 million) in the first two weeks of April to the same scam.
In the meantime, the prevalence of these scams has compelled authorities to step up their efforts. Scameter, an application developed in Hong Kong, assists users in determining the risk of fraud.
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