Elderly man loses HK$4 million in WhatsApp romance and cryptocurrency investment scam
Summary
A 70-year-old Hong Kong man fell victim to an online romance scam after receiving a fake WhatsApp message from someone pretending to be his neighbor, claiming there was a water leak in his flat. The scammer later apologized for sending the message by mistake, but the two continued chatting and developed a relationship. The fraudster, who posed as the neighbor, claimed to have insider knowledge about cryptocurrency investments and sent romantic messages such as "You know very well that I’ve fallen for you" and "You have to treasure me and do what I say." The man lost more than HK$3 million in life savings and incurred an additional HK$1 million in debt. Nearly 20 Hongkongers have lost a total of HK$10 million to online romance scams in the past two weeks, with 40 per cent of victims aged 60 or older.
Incident Details
Sources
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