A local woman was defrauded out of HK$4.5 million in an online romance scam, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Un Hong announced in a regular press conference on Boxing Day.
According to Cheong, the Judiciary Police (PJ) received a report recently from a local woman that she had been defrauded out of HK4.5 million (4.63 million patacas) by an online “boyfriend”.
In September, Cheong said that the victim met an individual on Instagram, after which they switched to WhatsApp for communication and developed an online romance. Her “boyfriend” claimed that his company was experiencing cash flow issues and requested the victim’s assistance, promising a reward of HK$10 million, Cheong said.
Believing the story to be true, according to Cheong, the victim followed the instructions and opened an account on a cryptocurrency trading platform. Between October 9 and December 11, the victim handed a total of HK$4.5 million in cash to the cage* of a casino in Macau on seven separate occasions to exchange the cash into gambling chips. Cheong said that the victim then purchased the corresponding cryptocurrency and, as instructed, transferred the money to multiple virtual wallets designated by the fraudster.
Subsequently, Cheong said, the victim’s “boyfriend” then claimed that the company’s issues had been resolved and provided a website link, which showed that HK$10 million had been deposited into her account. While the victim attempted to withdraw the funds, the transaction failed, according to Cheong. Later on, the website became inaccessible, leading the victim to suspect fraud and report the incident on Tuesday.
*In a casino, a “cage” refers to the secure area where cash transactions take place. It is essentially the main cash handling point. – Poe
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Un Hong looks on during Friday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Armindo Neves
