A Hong Kong IT professional was scammed out of more than HK$2.7 million (US$345,095) while investing in gold through a fake trading platform, becoming the latest victim in a series of online scams.
Police released details of the incident Wednesday through the Cyber Defender Facebook page, reminding residents to use caution when meeting new friends who are investing online.
The scam was discovered last week after a man reported it to police.
According to police, the man became a victim of the scam two months ago when he met a woman who claimed to be from Taiwan through a language learning mobile app.
Police said, “The woman introduced the man to a fraudulent trading website for the purpose of investing in gold.''
After opening an account on the website, he made 25 transfers worth more than HK$2.7 million to the designated investment bank account within two months.
It was later determined to be a scam as they were unable to withdraw money from the trading platform or contact the woman. He filed a police report last week.
The force warns on its website that scammers typically “establish romantic relationships online to gain the trust of their victims and entice them to invest.” Also known as the “pig butchering scam.”
It says, “Be wary of investment projects recommended by the perfect man/woman you met online.”
Are you being deceived?Potential victims receive alerts from Hong Kong police's Scmeter app
Are you being deceived?Potential victims receive alerts from Hong Kong police's Scmeter app
Police also urge the public to check background information on investment websites and avoid downloading unknown applications.
Police handled 5,105 reports of online investment fraud last year, a 170% increase from 1,884 in 2022. The associated economic losses also increased by 250% to HK$3.2 billion last year from HK$926 million the previous year.
Police are advising the public to check for suspicious or fraudulent schemes using the police Scameter search engine, which can be accessed from the CyberDefender website.
Search engines contain information that helps users identify suspicious web addresses, emails, platform usernames, bank accounts, mobile phone numbers, and IP addresses.
