A 55-year-old Italian man was duped of HK$14 million ( ₹14.59 crore) after being tricked by a fake online lover into investing in cryptocurrency. The victim is a resident of Western District and was trapped in February this year after replying to a message on dating app Tinder, the South China Morning Post reported.
The message was sent by a fraudster posing as a female investment broker based in Singapore. The duo frequently contacted each other through WhatsApp and reportedly developed an online romantic relationship. It was then the man was persuaded to open an account on a fake trading website for investment in digital money.
According to report, the Italian financial consultatnt was told that digital money investment could yield high returns. Between March 6 and 23, he was convinced to transfer HK$14.2 million into nine designated bank accounts, police said.
When he was unable to get back his money investment, the man realised he was duped in a scam. It was then he called the police. According to law, the case has been termed as ‘obtaining property by deception’, and is punishable by up to ten years in jail.
But this is not the sole case of ‘love scam’ preying on people in Hong Kong. In February, a 63-year-old investment manager reportedly lost HK$12.8 million (approximately ₹12.8 crore) after a fraudster claiming to be a female cryptocurrency expert luring into opening an account on a bogus trading website.
{{/usCountry}}But this is not the sole case of ‘love scam’ preying on people in Hong Kong. In February, a 63-year-old investment manager reportedly lost HK$12.8 million (approximately ₹12.8 crore) after a fraudster claiming to be a female cryptocurrency expert luring into opening an account on a bogus trading website.
{{/usCountry}}As per authorities, such websites or apps introduced to the victims often show surging cryptocurrency or stock prices, but the information turned out to be fake and controlled by cyber criminals. The positive returns in these investment accounts were set up to coax victims into investing more money.
The police said that initially the victims can make small profits but later end up suffering large losses after putting more money. In Hong Kong, the amount of money lost through dating scams rose to ₹726.66 crore in 2021.