Hong Kong woman loses HK$21.5 million in fake cryptocurrency investment scam

A 60-year-old woman in Hong Kong lost about HK$21.5 million in a cryptocurrency investment scam, according to the South China Morning Post. The woman reported the case to police on Saturday after being approached online by a person claiming to be an investment specialist. The two met on Baby Kingdom, an online parenting forum and community website, on March 15, according to a source cited by the newspaper.

The alleged fraudster persuaded her to invest through a fake cryptocurrency platform that promised high returns. Believing the claims, she transferred HK$19 million to the website. She was then contacted by another person who posed as a compliance officer for the platform.

That person claimed her account was connected to money laundering and demanded money to clear her name. The woman transferred a further HK$1.2 million before being asked for additional payments. She eventually contacted police.

The total loss between March and September was about HK$21.5 million, police said according to the report. The case has been classified as obtaining property by deception and assigned to the Sau Mau Ping district investigation team. The available material does not say whether any arrests have been made or identify the operators of the fraudulent platform.

The report also described a separate case involving a 67-year-old retired foreign businessman who allegedly lost HK$84.8 million. In that case, an online fraudster developed a romantic relationship with the victim on WhatsApp, posed as a cryptocurrency expert and persuaded him to use a fake trading application and transfer digital assets to designated wallets.