Written by: 1912212.eth, Foresight News
As a financial center in Asia and a hub for cryptocurrency, Hong Kong is facing significant challenges from cryptocurrency scams. In the first half of 2025, although overall scam losses decreased by 25% compared to the same period last year to approximately HKD 2.8 billion, cases related to cryptocurrency still accounted for a significant proportion. According to police data, the number of fraud cases involving cryptocurrency increased in the first five months of 2025, with victims primarily being young and middle-aged investors, influenced by cross-border scams from the mainland and vulnerabilities in local platforms. The forms of cryptocurrency scams are diverse, including investment frauds, money laundering gangs, and social media inducements, with total losses exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars.
Based on recent reports, Foresight News has compiled some typical cryptocurrency scam cases in Hong Kong from 2024 to the present, aiming to reveal patterns and provide warnings.
Seventy-Year-Old Man Scammed Out of HKD 3.27 Million in Romance Fraud
According to Hong Kong Wen Wei Po, a retired 70-year-old man received a message on WhatsApp in late April this year from someone claiming to be his "female neighbor," stating that there was a leak in his unit. The other party later claimed to have dialed the wrong number and apologized, but they continued chatting on WhatsApp, even exchanging romantic messages, developing a twilight romance into an online relationship, although the man had never met the woman in person.
By mid-May, the woman claimed to work at the Singapore Exchange and had insider information on cryptocurrency investments, falsely promising substantial returns. Using sweet talk, including "You know I have feelings for you," "You need to listen and cherish me," and "I can't help it, I just met you," she lured the man into transferring money to her for investment. Under pressure from the other party, the man ended up withdrawing cash frequently from ATMs between May 23 and July 16, transferring a total of HKD 3.2727 million to 34 bank accounts provided by the woman in 37 transactions. It wasn't until he reached the ATM withdrawal limit and went to the bank to withdraw a large sum of cash that bank staff noticed the suspicious transactions and immediately notified the anti-fraud coordination center, ultimately exposing the scam. As a result, the man lost over HKD 3.27 million and incurred nearly a million in debt.
The police stated on the "CyberDefender" Facebook page that in the past two weeks, they received nearly 20 reports of online romance scams related to investments, with 40% of the victims being over 60 years old, totaling losses exceeding HKD 10 million. The police once again reminded the public to be cautious of online romance scams.
Clicking on Fake Links on Telegram Leads to Over HKD 4 Million in Losses
According to Hong Kong 01, in July this year, a local woman with over 10 years of experience in investing in cryptocurrency recently fell victim to scams twice after failing to apply for a discount on a virtual asset platform. She sought "customer service" assistance on Telegram but unfortunately fell into two scam traps, losing over HKD 4 million in cryptocurrency. The police reminded the public to contact customer service only through official channels and to avoid clicking on unknown links or disclosing personal account passwords and verification codes.
The police pointed out that the woman had over 10 years of experience in cryptocurrency investment. After failing to apply for a discount on a virtual asset platform, she attempted to seek assistance from official customer service but did not receive an immediate response. Therefore, she searched for "customer service" on Telegram and proactively contacted an account that appeared to be official for help. The other party immediately falsely claimed to provide assistance and sent her an unknown link. The woman, not suspecting anything, clicked the link and followed the instructions to input her "personal information," "account number," and "transaction password." When she logged into her virtual asset account again, she was shocked to find that some of her assets had been transferred away, realizing she had been scammed.
Subsequently, the woman found another "customer service" account on Telegram, where the other party claimed they could help recover the lost virtual currency. The woman fell for the scam again and entered her personal information on a fake website provided by the other party, resulting in the remaining virtual assets in her account being transferred away as well. She fell victim consecutively, losing a total of over HKD 4 million.
Using "Counterfeit Money" to Deceive and Gain Trust, Involved HKD 11 Million
In July 2024, according to SCMP, Hong Kong police arrested four individuals, including a 14-year-old teenager, in a crackdown on a criminal gang suspected of using counterfeit money for fraud, involving cryptocurrency worth HKD 11 million (USD 1.4 million). The police stated that two of the suspects were the masterminds, responsible for sourcing counterfeit money and locations, creating fake cryptocurrency trading shops, and searching for victims online.
They invited victims to the shop and showed them piles of counterfeit money to demonstrate that they could easily settle transactions. After gaining the victims' trust, the suspects persuaded them to conduct transactions online. Once the cryptocurrency was transferred, the suspects immediately withdrew the assets from the accounts and refused to pay. This method has been common in recent cases, with 14 people arrested for defrauding 12 victims of HKD 11 million since last October.
Romantic Script Chatting + Deepfake Technology Video Calls for Deception, Involved HKD 34 Million
In January this year, according to Phoenix News, Hong Kong police dismantled a scam group that used deepfake technology to lure others into investing in virtual currency through social platforms, involving approximately HKD 34 million. The Hong Kong police's Commercial Crime Bureau arrested 31 individuals aged between 20 and 34 in two industrial buildings in Kowloon Bay based on intelligence, some of whom claimed to be students and unemployed, all involved in the same scam group, and seized their pre-set "scripts."
The Hong Kong police indicated that the group recruited young people looking to "make quick money," training them to create accounts on dating platforms with fake identities, pretending to have good looks and a luxurious lifestyle, and connecting with individuals from overseas, including Taiwan and East Asia, chatting according to the "script." After understanding the other party's background, they would cater to their interests and develop into online lovers, even using deepfake technology for video calls, subsequently luring the other party to invest in virtual currency, claiming substantial returns, and requiring deposits into fake platforms. Once the group received the virtual currency, they would immediately transfer it away and cut off contact with the victims.
In October 2024, Hong Kong police dismantled a scam group operating locally, arresting 27 individuals. During approximately one year of operation, they were suspected of defrauding multiple local and overseas victims, with total amounts defrauded reaching as high as HKD 360 million. The scam group primarily used online romance tactics to lure victims into investing in cryptocurrency and defrauding money.
Scam methods are numerous; as long as one is not emotionally trapped, not greedy for small gains, and does not easily trust strangers' requests for money transfers, and remains cautious when clicking links, one can truly protect their wallet. Otherwise, it will be too late for regrets.
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