Two victims in Hong Kong lost a total of HK$37.6 million or US$4.8 million after falling for cryptocurrency investment scams.
In 2025, Hong Kong police documented 5,135 incidents of online investment fraud. This showed a 30.7% increase compared to 2024. Fraudsters reached about 80.4 percent of victims via social media platforms or messaging apps before the attack.
Hong Kong Woman Loses $3.955 Million in Cryptocurrency Romance Scam
According to local media, a woman in her 50s lost a staggering HK$31 million or US$3.955 million to a cryptocurrency romance scam.
Crypto romance scam He started With the rent question. A scammer posing as a potential tenant contacted the woman who owned the property after she posted a rental ad online.
The conversation quickly turned to WhatsApp, where the scammer apparently developed a romantic relationship with the victim to gain her trust. The scammer convinced the woman to invest in cryptocurrencies. He then sent her URLs that led to fake cryptocurrency investment sites.
The woman was deceived. I have sent millions of Hong Kong dollars several times to personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency wallet.
In total, the victim lost a total of HK$31 million or US$3.955 million in this scam. This was the largest single loss out of more than 1,000 similar fraud cases in the cryptocurrency space last year.
Hong Kong police reported that online romance scams increased by 8.2% last year. There were 1,093 cases of fraud reported in 2025 compared to just 1,010 cases in 2024.
Hong Kong man loses $842,567 in cryptocurrency investment scam
According to Hong Kong police, a 66-year-old retiree lost his entire savings after being scammed three times.
the first to cheat It started 6 months ago when a retiree received an unexpected message on WhatsApp from someone pretending to be an “expert” in the field of cryptocurrencies. The scammer promised to teach the victim how to invest with guaranteed profits.
The man sent a total of HK$1.4 million or US$178,500 to the fake “expert.” It quickly disappeared once the cryptocurrency was sent to his account. The victim later realized the scam and reported it to the police.
The retiree refused to accept defeat, and searched online for another “crypto expert” to get his money back. The “expert” agreed to help but demanded a deposit of HK$600,000 as security.
The retiree trusted him, sent the money, and the “expert” disappeared again. After the pensioner realized he had been defrauded again, he reported it to the police.
Clearly, the victim has become a known and easy target for cryptocurrency scammers.
In January, a new “crypto expert” sent a message to the retiree on WhatsApp, saying he could recover losses from previous scams if he bought HK$4.6 million in cryptocurrency and sent it to a specific wallet. After he did that, the “expert” disappeared.
Within half a year, the retiree was defrauded three times, losing a total of HK$6.6 million or US$842,567.
Hong Kong’s CyberDefender Police Unit is fighting cryptocurrency scams with Scameter, a tool that identifies fake cryptocurrency scams with false high returns. The tool also addresses other major risks such as phishing and counterfeiting She denied Locations. Police use artificial intelligence to detect suspicious apps and URLs to protect investors.
CyberDefender Police advises the public to check the risk using the Scameter tool before sending money to strangers.
