Hong Kong woman loses HK$1.5 million in double scam
Thestandard · 1 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
A Hong Kong woman lost about HK$1.5 million after being deceived in two separate scams within a month, according to a case highlighted by police on the CyberDefender Facebook page . Police said she first fell for an online investment fraud and deposited nearly HK$1.2 million to buy cryptocurrency on a fake trading platform . After struggling to accept the loss, she was drawn into a second scam by a website claiming to be the “Global Anti-Fraud Alliance” . She then paid another HK$300,000 to people who said they could recover her money, only to be cheated again .
Key Points
- Police said the woman was lured last month into an online investment scam involving cryptocurrency purchases on a bogus trading platform .
- She transferred nearly HK$1.2 million in the first fraud, believing she was making legitimate crypto investments online .
- In the second approach, she found a website presenting itself as the “Global Anti-Fraud Alliance” and contacted its customer service .
- She was introduced to a self-described lawyer, who promised to connect her with an “anti-fraud ambassador” to retrieve the lost funds .
- Trusting claims that the ambassador could attack the fake platform through a backend system, she sent another HK$300,000 and lost that too .
Why It Matters
Police said the case shows a growing pattern of “secondary scams” targeting victims who are desperate to recover earlier losses . Authorities warned that fraudsters may impersonate law firms, anti-fraud bodies or hacker groups, and may push fake websites high in search results to appear credible . The public was urged to verify suspicious investment information through Scameter or the 18222 anti-scam hotline before sending money .