Middle-aged man swindled out of $4.9m in compensated dating scam

A 49-year-old local man was scammed of about HK$4.9 million by a compensated-dating girl, according to the police Anti-Deception Coordination Center.

The clerk had met a girl on Telegram who claimed she could offer compensation dating services. She convinced him to click on a fake website link and register an account to receive the service.

The man fell for the trap and transferred a total of HK$4,000 - the so-called registration fee - to a local bank account in January, after the fraudster assured him the money would be refunded later on.

The 49-year-old then transferred another HK$4.9 million - through 15 transactions - into nine different local bank accounts after he was tricked by the fraudsters who continued to make up excuses to arrange for his refund.

The accounts were later found to be suspicious by the police and detecting the fraud case.

The case was handed over to the Kowloon City police district for follow-up, and no arrests have been made so far.