Hong Kong retiree loses HK$6 million in online investment scam
An 80-year-old woman in Hong Kong lost HK$6 million after meeting a fraudster who posed as an investment expert on Facebook, police said. The suspect later moved the conversation to WhatsApp. The case was among more than 50 investment scams reported in a week, with losses nearing HK$30 million.
An 80-year-old woman in Hong Kong has lost HK$6 million, or US$764,772, to a person posing as an online investment expert, police said. The retiree first encountered the fraudster on Facebook, according to the Hong Kong police disclosure. Their communication later moved to WhatsApp, where the suspect developed a relationship with the woman before she lost the money.
Police published details of the case on the force’s CyberDefender social media page. The disclosure did not state how the payments were made, how long the contact lasted or whether any arrest had been made. The case formed part of more than 50 investment scams reported in Hong Kong over the previous week, police said.
Combined losses from those cases were approaching HK$30 million. The available information identifies the incident as an online investment fraud and records the scale of the reported losses. It does not provide further details about the suspect’s identity, the recovery of funds or the outcome of the investigation.
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