K-pop fan loses nearly $200,000 in Threads giveaway scam

A middle-aged K-pop fan has lost nearly HK$200,000 after falling victim to an online scam on social media platform Threads, where a fraudster claimed to be giving away collectible K-pop photo cards.

Police said the scammer posted a message on Threads claiming they were no longer interested in their favorite Korean pop star — a practice known among fans as “retiring from the fandom” — and would therefore give away their collection of K-pop cards for free. Interested fans were told they only needed to pay shipping costs.

A 50-year-old woman believed the offer and contacted the poster through private messages. The scammer then sent her a link to a fraudulent website and asked her to enter delivery details and pay a shipping fee.

After filling in her information, the victim attempted to make payment but received an “error” message on the screen. When she asked the scammer about the issue, the fraudster claimed it was related to “online banking authentication.”

The scammer then instructed the woman step by step to log into her online banking account to complete what was described as a verification process. She was guided to enter a series of numbers to complete the supposed authentication.

Unaware that she was being deceived, the woman followed the instructions. She later discovered that nearly HK$200,000 in savings had been transferred from her bank account in three separate Faster Payment System (FPS) transactions to accounts controlled by the scammer.

The suspect subsequently disappeared, and the chat records between the two were also deleted.

Police issued a warning on Friday through their anti-scam platform CyberDefender, reminding the public to stay vigilant against online offers that appear too good to be true.

Authorities said members of the public should remember that “there is no free lunch in the world” and urged caution toward social media posts claiming to give away free items.

People who suspect fraud are advised to use the Scameter search tool or the Scameter app to assess potential scam risks.