Three local women have separately fallen victim to investment scams, resulting in a total loss of HK$6.26 million (6.45 million patacas), Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Leng, a local elderly woman was added to an investment group via WhatsApp by a stranger in October. Within the group, members purportedly spoke about their investment experiences, and a person claiming to be a “customer services manager” convinced her to invest in Hong Kong stocks on a specific platform. Following the scammer’s instructions, she transferred a total of HK$3.23 million in 17 transactions to various Hong Kong bank accounts. On Friday, the scammer requested more funds, citing “poor stock performance,” and encouraged her to borrow money from a finance company. Realising she had been deceived, she reported the case to the police on Saturday.
Leng added that another elderly woman received a WhatsApp message on August 20 from someone claiming to be a “well-known stock commentator in Hong Kong,” who offered assistance with investment profits. The victim transferred a total of HK$1.264 million into three bank accounts provided by the scammer who later sent multiple false screenshots appearing to show “investment profits.” Suspecting she had been scammed, she reported the case to the police on Sunday.
In the third case, Leng said, a middle-aged local woman saw a stock investment advertisement on Facebook on September 3 and was invited to join a WhatsApp group. Within the group, an individual claiming to be an “investment assistant” instructed her to download specific investment software that purportedly used AI technology to select stocks, promising easy profits. She then deposited HK$1.77 million into her software account, which later showed profits exceeding HK$4 million. However, when she sought to withdraw her funds, the scammer demanded a 10 percent “management fee.” After she refused to pay, she was blocked, and her account became inaccessible. Realising she had been scammed, she reported the case to the police on Monday.
