Hong Kong woman loses HK$21.5 million in cryptocurrency scam

A 60-year-old woman from Hong Kong has suffered a major financial loss of over HK$21.5 million due to a cryptocurrency scam, according to police reports. The victim came across a fraudster posing as an investment expert on "Baby Kingdom," a popular online parenting forum, in March of this year. The scammer convinced the woman to invest in a fake cryptocurrency platform that offered the promise of high returns, eventually receiving HK$19 million from her.

Further manipulation led to an additional HK$1.2 million being transferred to the fraudsters' account. The victim reported the case to the police on Saturday, after being asked to make further payments.

The fraudulent scheme has been classified as obtaining property by deception, and the case has been handed over to the Sau Mau Ping district investigation team. This incident is not isolated, as another victim, a 67-year-old retired foreign businessman, lost an astonishing HK$84.8 million following a similar online scam in early this year.

The fraudster in that case gained the retired businessman's trust by developing a romantic relationship over WhatsApp, eventually convincing him to download a fake trading application and transfer digital assets into designated crypto wallets over a six-month period.