A male non-resident worker (NRW) has fallen for an online love scam, in which he lost 440,000 yuan (504,000 patacas), Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Lei, the victim in his thirties told the police that he met a woman through an online social platform last month, after which they quickly started an online relationship and earlier this month even discussed getting married.
The woman sent a website link to the victim claiming that he could make money through online investments so that they could get “married”. The victim initially invested a total of 190,000 yuan in it and the website showed that he earned a 20,000 yuan profit. On Monday, the victim transferred an additional 250,000 yuan to the website’s account for “investment”.
The victim told the police that he suddenly lost contact with his “fiancée” on Tuesday morning, and then discovered that the purported investment website could not be accessed anymore. Finally realising that he had been scammed, the victim reported the case to the police.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: William Chan
