Hong Kong Crypto Scams Surge: Victims Lose $4.7 Million as Police Sound Alarm on Social Media Fraud
Hong Kong authorities issued a stark warning today as new police data reveals cryptocurrency scams have surged over 30% in the past year, with victims losing a combined $4.7 million. The alarming figures show scammers are increasingly targeting investors through social media platforms, contacting over 80% of victims before executing fraudulent schemes.
Hong Kong woman loses $3.955 million to crypto romance scam
According to local news outlets, a woman in her 50s lost a staggering HK $31 million or USD $3.955 million in a crypto romance scam.
The crypto romance scam started with a rental question. A scammer pretending to be a potential tenant contacted the woman who is a property owner after she posted a rental ad online.
The conversation shifted fast to WhatsApp, where the scammer developed a seemingly romantic bond with the victim to gain her trust. The scammer convinced the woman to invest in crypto. He then sent her URLs that led to fake crypto investment websites.
The woman was deceived. She sent millions of hong kong dollars several times to personal bank accounts and crypto wallet.
In total, the victim lost a total of HK $31 million or USD $3.955 million in this scam. This was the biggest single loss among over 1,000 similar crypto scam cases last year.
Hong Kong police reported that online romance scams increased by 8.2% last year. 1,093 scams cases were reported in 2025 compared to 1,010 only in 2024.
Hong Kong man loses $842,567 to crypto investment scam
According to Hong Kong police, a 66-year-old retiree lost his entire life savings after he was scammed three times.
The first scam began 6 months ago when the retiree got an unexpected WhatsApp message from someone posing as a crypto “expert”. The scammer promised to teach the victim how to invest with guaranteed profits.
The man sent a total of HK $1.4 million or USD $178,500 to the fake “expert.” He vanished quickly once the crypto was sent to his account. The victim realized the fraud afterward and reported it to the police.
Refusing to accept defeat, the retiree searched online for another “crypto expert” to retrieve his funds. The “expert” consented to assist but demanded a HK $600,000 deposit as security.
Trusting him, the retiree sent the money and the “expert” vanished again. Understanding he was scammed once more, the retiree informed the police.
It’s clear that the victim became a known and easy target to crypto scammers.
In January, a new “crypto expert” messaged the retiree on WhatsApp, saying they could recover losses from his past scams if he bought HK $4.6 million of cryptocurrency and sent it to a specific wallet. After he did so, the “expert” vanished.
Within half a year, the retiree was scammed three times, losing a combined HK $6.6 million or USD $842,567.
Hong Kong’s CyberDefender police unit fights crypto scams using Scameter, a tool that identifies fake crypto scams with false high returns. The tool also tackles other major dangers like phishing, and fake NFT sites. The police employ AI to detect suspicious apps and URLs to safeguard investors.
The CyberDefender police advises the public to check danger with the Scameter tool before sending money to strangers.
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