Man Loses HK$2.8 Million in Fake Green Investment Scam
HK01 · 3 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
A Hong Kong man in his sixties lost more than HK$2.8 million after being drawn into a bogus “environmental waste” investment plan promoted by scammers posing as staff linked to CLP Power and State Grid. Police said the victim was first approached on Facebook, then persuaded over WhatsApp to make repeated transfers into personal bank accounts.
Key Points
- Police said the local male victim, aged in his sixties, first met the scammer on Facebook before the conversation moved to WhatsApp a few days later.
- The fraudster claimed to be a “CLP employee” and said there was a joint “environmental waste” investment project with State Grid offering attractive returns.
- No website or formal investment materials were provided; the supposed project was described only through text messages sent to the victim.
- After agreeing to invest, the victim transferred more than HK$1.5 million to several different personal bank accounts, then sent over HK$1 million more after being shown a handwritten “guarantee” and a fake Hong Kong identity card image.
- The victim later received WhatsApp messages from another scammer claiming to be a State Grid employee, who showed a fake staff card and a forged HK$9 million cheque, then demanded another payment to release the supposed profit.
Why It Matters
The case came amid more than 50 investment fraud reports received by law enforcement in the past week, with total losses exceeding HK$30 million, underscoring how quickly social-media contact can escalate into major financial harm. Police urged the public to verify staff identities through official channels, avoid trusting claims of high-return, no-risk investments, and never transfer money into unknown personal bank accounts