An elderly local woman has fallen victim to an investment scam, losing a total of 5.19 million patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Un Hong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Cheong, the victim met a man online through the social media platform “RedNote” (also known as Xiaohongshu) in June. They later communicated via WhatsApp and developed an online friendship. The man encouraged the victim to invest on a website. Following his guidance, she engaged in stock and gold investments on the website, initially having earned HK$1,000 after investing HK$20,000. The victim successfully received the HK$1,000 profit. Trusting the scammer, the victim decided to increase her investment and made multiple transfers to a designated Hong Kong bank account.
Cheong noted that between July 15 and 22, the victim made multiple transfers and handed over HK$1.4 million to strangers in Hong Kong and Macau, totalling 5.19 million patacas.
However, when the victim attempted to withdraw her funds again, the website’s customer service claimed that her account had been frozen and requested an “unfreezing fee.” The victim complied but was again informed that her account was suspected of “money laundering” and was asked for further payments. Suspecting she had been scammed, she reported her total loss of 5.192 million patacas to the police on Friday.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Un Hong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
