Hong Kong Woman in Her 50s Loses $3.3 Million in Romance Scam Tied to Fake Crypto Investment
Summary
- A Hong Kong insurance agent in her 50s lost about $3.3 million after falling for a cryptocurrency investment scam linked to an online romance scam.
- The scam used a fake investment application and promised returns of more than 800%, luring the victim into making multiple transfers to accounts held under other names before the perpetrators disappeared.
- The FBI said global crypto-related fraud losses are rising, with $11.3 billion in losses recorded last year.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
A Hong Kong insurance agent in her 50s lost $3.3 million in a cryptocurrency investment scam after falling victim to an online romance scam.
The Block reported on August 3 that Hong Kong police said the woman was defrauded of about HK$26 million, or roughly $3.3 million, after she was introduced to a man last year through a client seeking to buy insurance.
Police said the man identified himself as "Uncle" and claimed to work in the auto industry. He developed an online romantic relationship with the victim, then said he was a cryptocurrency investment expert and persuaded her to invest.
The woman installed a fake investment app at his direction. Over about six months, she handed HK$4 million, or about $510,000, in cash to accomplices and transferred roughly HK$22 million, or about $2.8 million, in multiple transactions to bank accounts held under other names.
The app later showed returns of more than 800%. But when she tried to withdraw the money, the request was denied. The man and his accomplices then cut off contact and disappeared.
The case was the largest among 25 romance-scam complaints filed in Hong Kong from July 24 to July 30. Total losses during that period reached about HK$70 million, or roughly $8.9 million.
Cryptocurrency investment scams are rising globally. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said in April that it had arrested 276 members of crypto investment fraud rings and identified nine related scam centers in a joint operation with authorities in the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and China.
The FBI said losses tied to crypto-related fraud totaled $11.3 billion last year. That accounted for more than half of the $20.9 billion in losses from internet crime overall.
Separately, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission directed online brokerages and cryptocurrency trading platforms this month to gradually phase out one-time passwords used for logins and device registration. The move is aimed at reducing account takeovers, fraud and phishing.
