Woman, 81, loses over $5m in online romance scam involving fake PLA soldier

An 81-year-old woman has been swindled out of more than HK$5 million by a fraudster posing as a People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier, in what police describe as part of a worrying surge in online romance scams. Officers said more than 40 similar cases have been reported in just ten days.

According to the police's CyberDefender unit, the victim received a WhatsApp message from a man claiming to be a member of the military who invited her to visit a camp. The pair later developed an online relationship.

The scammer, who claimed to be a retired member of the PLA, repeatedly asked the woman for money under various pretexts, which she transferred as instructed.

Eventually, another person posing as the soldier's superior contacted her, claiming that the man had died and left behind an inheritance worth over HK$9 million.

The woman was told she needed to pay administrative fees to claim the funds — a ruse that led her to hand over her entire life savings.

Police said that in the past ten days alone, more than 40 victims have reported similar scams involving a combined loss of over HK$40 million, with nearly half of the victims aged 55 or above.