Two local women, both in their thirties, fell for an investment scam after their respective online “boyfriends” told them that it was very profitable, one woman also shared nude photos of herself, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon said during a regular press conference on Monday.
According to Leng, the first female victim met a male netizen on a social media platform in late August and they quickly became an online couple. During their virtual relationship, the victim sent nude photos to her “boyfriend”, and he persuaded her to invest through a website, Leng said, adding that the victim deposited HK$3,000 into a Hong Kong bank account and later the “investment” had grown by HK$200.
The victim then decided to withdraw the money but the “staff” of the website told her that she had to deposit more money into the account first. The victim refused, but was later threatened by her ‘boyfriend’ in early September that he would release her nude photo to the public if she failed to pay up. The victim gave in and deposited further HK$37,700 in two separate payments to her ‘boyfriend’s’ bank account.
Later, the scammer tried to blackmail her again, but the victim did not have the money and finally reported the case to the police on Friday, having a lost a total of HK$40,700, Leng said.
Meanwhile, Leng said that another woman was scammed by her online ‘boyfriend’ she met in July who lured her to invest in “cryptocurrency” on a website. The victim initially “invested” 28,100 patacas, and then last Wednesday the “staff” of the website claimed that their system had been hacked and the victim needed to deposit more money to unfreeze her account. Believing the “staff member”, she deposited 48,900 patacas more.
According to Leng, the “staff” requested the victim deposit more money, while her “boyfriend” vanished, leading the victim to report the case to the police on Saturday, with a loss totalling 77,000 patacas.
