27 held over deepfake love scam operation

Wallis Wang

Police have arrested 27 people from a love scam syndicate that exploited digital media university graduates to defraud both local and overseas victims out of HK$360 million using deepfake technology to impersonate attractive women.

Last Wednesday, officers raided the syndicate's 4,000-square-foot office located in an industrial building in Hung Hom, arresting 21 men and six women, aged 21 to 34, on charges of conspiracy to defraud and possession of offensive weapons.

Among the arrestees is a 29-year-old mastermind linked to the notorious local triad group Sun Yee On.

The police report indicates that over half of those arrested have completed secondary education or higher, with six having graduated from prominent local universities.

Senior Superintendent Fang Chi-kin said: "The syndicate operated for about one year, hiring local university graduates majoring in digital media as tech specialists. They collaborated with overseas scammers and IT experts to create a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform."

Fang said the scammers targeted victims on social media, using AI-generated images to pose as attractive women and develop romantic relationships.

"Although most of the scammers are male, they employed deepfake technology during video calls with victims," he said.

Once victims became emotionally invested, the scammers would entice them into making substantial online transactions disguised as cryptocurrency investments.

They often discussed a future together to cultivate an illusion of happiness.

Superintendent Iu Wing-kan added the syndicate attracted job seekers with a high educational background by advertising for clerks or typists on online platforms.

"The graduates were only informed of the syndicate's true operations after being hired but chose to stay due to a lucrative 40 percent commission."

Iu said the syndicate provided training to its members, teaching them how to craft their self-image and lower victims' defenses before introducing fake investment products.

To foster a sense of belonging and ambition, they established a performance leaderboard, showcasing teams that committed the most scams.

"We noticed the top scammer on the leaderboard defrauded US$266,000 (about HK$2 million) in just the past month," Iu said.

During the operation, police seized a large quantity of computers, over 100 mobile phones, more than HK$200,000 in cash, and luxury watches belonging to key members of the syndicate.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com