Police said online investment scammers generally did not meet their victims.
โBetween September 3, 2023 and March 5, 2024, the woman made 20 in-person transactions, worth HK$28 million, with one of the scammers and made a further 22 transactions worth HK$13 million. million Hong Kong dollars with another scammer,โ 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 lodged a complaint with police.
He was arrested on suspicion of obtaining property by deception, a crime 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 they convinced the victim to connect his e-wallet to the fake trading platform and reveal his account password.
She added that the scammers tempted her with huge profits as bait to entice her to invest more money.
The businesswoman realized she had been scammed when she was unable to withdraw her money from the trading platform or communicate with the two men.
Leung said the public should use the force's Scameter search engine, which can be accessed through the CyberDefender website, to check for suspicious or fraudulent schemes.
The search engine has information to help users identify web addresses, emails, platform usernames, bank accounts, mobile phone numbers and IP addresses flagged with red flags.
Hong Kong finance manager loses HK$17.8 million in gold, cryptocurrency scam
Hong Kong finance manager loses HK$17.8 million in gold, cryptocurrency scam
Police have recorded a significant increase in online investment fraud, with 5,105 reports last year, compared to 1,884 in 2022.
Financial losses also increased to HK$3.26 billion in 2023, up from HK$926 million a year earlier.
The city recorded a 42.6 percent 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 rose 89 percent to 9.1 billion Hong Kong dollars in 2023, from 4.8 billion Hong Kong dollars recorded the previous year.
