A 71-year-old retired woman has lost over HK$2.9 million in an online romance scam after being showered with a daily dose of sweet talk by a self-proclaimed power company employee.
The case was one of at least 18 romance scams reported to police in the past week, with total losses reaching nearly HK$7.8 million.
Police said the victim was first approached on Facebook by the scammer, who claimed to be a 60-year-old employee at a power company.
After gaining her trust and building a romantic connection, the fraudster introduced her to what he called a "sure-win" waste-recycling investment project in Singapore.
Persuaded to download a fake investment app, the victim was guided by an "online customer service agent" through opening an account and depositing funds.
Although the platform showed a steadily rising balance, the agent refused to let her withdraw the funds, citing various excuses.
The second blow came when the man claimed he had been arrested in Singapore for money laundering, begging the victim for bail and legal fees. He also told her to deposit cash into a designated e-wallet at a cryptocurrency exchange.
Under pressure, the woman drained her savings and borrowed from friends and finance companies, transferring nearly HK$2.9 million in 17 separate transactions.
Unfortunately, the truth only emerged when a finance company came knocking and she turned to her daughter for a loan.
Police urged the public to watch for warning signs of a scam, starting with an online partner who refuses to meet in person but asks for money.
They added that high-return investments should never be trusted and that apps from unknown sources should never be downloaded, stressing that legitimate institutions never charge extra before withdrawal.
The public are also advised to verify a platform's contact methods, as real ones usually have a stable phone line, email and physical address, while fake ones offer only online messaging and pressure users to transfer money fast.
