A local young man has lost HK$500 (513 patacas) in an online-dating scam, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Leng, the victim received a message on Sunday afternoon from a scammer who claimed to be a “local girl from Macau” on social media and later continued chatting through WhatsApp. The scammer then proposed a meeting, and at around 2 p.m., requested a “meeting fee” of HK$500. The victim was instructed to purchase a prepaid card from a convenience store and send the card number and password to the scammer. Shortly afterwards, the scammer demanded an additional fee of HK$10,000 to meet. When the victim refused and asked for the HK$500 back, a man speaking Cantonese called via WhatsApp, threatening, “If you don’t pay the HK$10,000, I will come to Macau and find you!” The victim refused, and the caller hung up.
Realising he had been scammed, the victim reported the case to the police the same day.
