A local man reported to the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Friday that he had been cheated by a “female” netizen out of more than HK$1.5 million in an online investment scam, PJ spokesman Ho Chan Nam said at the press briefing yesterday.
The victim, in his fifties, told the police that he met the person, who claimed to be a woman from Hong Kong, via a social media app in October this year. The woman told him that she was good at investing in digital currencies and persuaded him to invest online. He registered an online investment account according to a link provided by the woman and initially deposited HK$41,500 for the investment. He soon earnt a profit of several thousand Hong Kong dollars which was deposited into the victim’s bank account in Hong Kong. The victim then injected an additional HK$70,000 to invest and soon he earnt a profit of HK$40,000.
Afterwards, the victim and the woman invested jointly to continue the investment. The victim deposited HK$1.3 million into the purported investment account and soon the account balance reached HK$1.4 million in total including the capital and purported profit. When the victim wanted to withdraw the money, the woman told him to pay a deposit of 15 percent of the account balance. However, after the victim deposited HK$220,000, she claimed that the account was suspected of involvement in money laundering and requested another deposit.
The victim finally suspected that he had been cheated and reported the case to the police, reporting a total loss was about HK$1.52 million.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam looks on during yesterday press conference at the Public Security Police (PSP) press room. Photo: Camy Tam
