Deepfake dating, crypto ring dismantled

Eunice Lam

Thirty-one people have been arrested in connection to a dating scam in which perpetrators using deepfake technology lured people into investing in phony cryptocurrencies, pilfering over HK$34 million.

Police also nabbed the alleged mastermind of the syndicate. Some of those arrested, aged between 20 and 34, are said to be jobless or students.

Five of them - the mastermind, a person in charge of two fraud centers in Kowloon Bay and three core members - will be brought before the Eastern Magistrates' Court today on charges of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

The others have been released on bail.

Sources said one of those arrested is a Hong Kong Premier League footballer who played a "frontline" role in chatting with victims online.

Senior Superintendent Fanny Kung Hing-fun of the Commercial Crime Bureau said officers cracked down on two fraud centers - both in Kowloon Bay - on Thursday and Friday.

Multiple smartphones and computers were seized during the operations, alongside "scripts" of the scam plots, a huge amount of luxury goods, a Ferrari automobile, and over HK$10 million cash.

"[The suspects] rented two flats located in adjoining industrial buildings as fraud centers to diversify their risk and enhance security," Hung said. "We had also noticed that the two centers had been operating in two shifts to attract more victims round the clock."

The centers adopted an open-office design - similar to companies - and used "making fast money" as a slogan to recruit young people, including university students, to join them, Hung said.

The syndicate would provide the youngsters with detailed notes and training and told them to create fake accounts on dating apps, pretend to have an attractive appearance, and enjoy a luxurious lifestyle.

They would chat with potential victims according to preset scripts. For example: "I didn't know how to sip red wine before, but now I know a little bit about it after spending some time with my bosses in the crypto social circle, haha!"

After establishing a romantic connection with the victims, they would make video calls using deepfake face-swapping technology and lure them into investing in cryptocurrencies.

Superintendent Charles Fung Pui-kei at the Commercial Crime Bureau's fraud division said people would fall victim after being told there would be substantial returns in a short time. After targets invest large sums on the fake platforms, the defrauders would immediately cut all ties with the victims.

"The victims would gradually find that they could not redeem the invested cryptocurrencies and end up losing all their money," Fung said.

He added that the victims mostly live overseas - including in Taiwan and East Asia - and that police would work with Interpol to contact them.

Fung said the syndicate would store the scam proceeds in safety boxes in the fraud centers or use some of the proceeds to buy luxury goods, and that she believes the syndicate operated for at least one year.

Cops also seized notice boards at the centers, with some syndicate members writing their personal goals in 2025 - including having HK$10 million in assets or aiming to find a "victim" every day who would cough up more than US$10,000 (HK$78,000).

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com