Retired Hong Kong woman loses HK$2.9 million in online romance, fake app scam

A retired woman in Hong Kong lost nearly HK$2.9 million (US$369,670) in a romance scam after a fraudster posing as a power company employee won her trust and lured her into a bogus investment scheme.

Police said the case was among at least 18 online romance scams reported in the past week, with total losses nearing HK$7.8 million, according to the force’s CyberDefender social media page.

The 71-year-old retiree met a man on Facebook who claimed to work for a power company.

The pair gradually developed an online romantic relationship, despite never meeting in person.

After gaining the woman’s trust, the man introduced what he described as a sure-profit waste recycling investment project in Singapore and persuaded her to download a fake investment platform app.

She was then instructed by purported customer service staff to open an account and deposit money.

Although the platform showed her investments generating increasing returns, the woman was unable to withdraw any funds when she tried to cash out, with customer service staff repeatedly citing various reasons for the delays.

The scammer also claimed he had been arrested in Singapore on money-laundering allegations and pleaded with the victim to transfer money for bail and legal fees.

He further instructed her to visit cryptocurrency exchange shops and deposit cash into designated digital wallets.

Police said the woman exhausted her savings and borrowed money from friends and finance companies, transferring nearly HK$2.9 million in 17 transactions.

The victim only discovered the scam after a finance company pursued her for debt repayment.

She turned to her daughter for financial help and learned she had been cheated.