A woman was duped out of HK$5.2 million in an elaborate online investment scam that began in a second-hand furniture group, highlighting a recent surge of nearly 100 similar cases reported to the police in the past week alone.
The police's CyberDefender platform shared details of the case on Monday, revealing how scammers are using increasingly unconventional methods to find their victims.
The woman reportedly encountered a self-proclaimed "expert" in a social media group dedicated to buying and selling used furniture.
This individual successfully lured her to a fraudulent website designed for investing in the cryptocurrency Tether (USDT). Following the scammer's instructions, the victim made over 60 separate transactions, transferring both cash and cryptocurrency to the designated accounts to be used as investment capital.
The scam unraveled when the victim attempted to withdraw her funds and the requests were denied. It was only then that she realized she had been deceived, with her total losses amounting to a staggering HK$5.2 million.
In response to this and other recent cases, the police have issued a strong public warning, stating that scammers are "everywhere" and will exploit any online community, including seemingly unrelated ones like furniture trading groups.
Authorities are urging the public to exercise extreme caution before making any online investments and to thoroughly verify the credibility of any platform.
They also advise people to look out for their friends and family members and to treat any suspicious investment opportunity as a potential scam.
For added security, police recommend using the "Scameter" tool, available on the CyberDefender website and as a mobile app, to check the fraud risk of any suspicious website address before proceeding.
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
