An IT professional in Hong Kong has become the latest victim of a wave of online scams after being duped out of more than HK$2.7 million (US$345,095) while investing in gold via a sham trading platform.
Police released the details of the case on Wednesday through its CyberDefender Facebook page to remind residents to exercise caution while meeting new friends investing online.
The scam came to light when the man reported it to police last week.
According to the force, the man fell victim to the fraud after meeting a woman claiming to be from Taiwan through a language-learning mobile application two months ago.
“The woman introduced him to a fraudulent trading website for investing in gold,” police said.
After setting up an account on the website, he made 25 transfers worth more than HK$2.7 million to designated bank accounts for investments within two months.
He later found out it was a scam when he was unable to withdraw the money from the trading platform or contact the woman. He called police last week.
The force has warned on its website that scammers usually “establish an online romantic relationship to gain the trust of the victims and lure them into making an investment”. It is known as the “pig-butchering scam”.
“Beware of the investment projects recommended by the perfect men/women you know online,” it said.
Being scammed? Potential victims to get alerts from Hong Kong police Scameter app
Being scammed? Potential victims to get alerts from Hong Kong police Scameter app
Police also remind the public to verify the background information of investment websites and avoid downloading unknown applications.
Police handled 5,105 reports of online investment fraud last year, an increase of 170 per cent from 1,884 cases logged in 2022. Financial losses involved also rose by 250 per cent to HK$3.2 billion last year from HK$926 million the year before.
Police advise the public to use the force’s Scameter search engine, accessible through the CyberDefender website, to check for suspicious or fraudulent schemes.
The search engine has information to help users identify suspicious web addresses, emails, platform usernames, bank accounts, mobile phone numbers and IP addresses.
