Over 100 investment frauds reported in a week, elderly victim loses nearly $7 million

The Hong Kong Police have recorded more than 100 investment fraud cases in the past week, resulting in total losses of HK$70 million, with one elderly victim losing nearly HK$7 million. 

The police revealed in a social media post that an 80-year-old victim received a WhatsApp message six months ago from a scammer claiming to be an investment expert, noting that he had insider information about an investment opportunity. 

The victim then invested HK$4 million in a Hong Kong stock, but just a day later, the stock price plummeted by 80 percent, leading to a loss of over HK$3 million. 

When he sought assistance from this so-called expert, he was advised to switch to another fund, which required a margin payment. 

Following the instructions, the victim transferred over HK$3 million to various bank accounts until his investment account was depleted. He only realized he had been scammed when he could no longer reach the scammer. 

The police warned the public not to respond to unknown or suspicious messages. Citizens should avoid trusting online advertisements promising “high returns” on investments and never make random transfers to unknown personal bank accounts.