According to the Hong Kong police, from January to April, there was a surge in investment fraud cases in Hong Kong, with a total of 1174 reported cases, up from 781 in the same period last year. The reported loss increased from HKD 468 million in the first four months of last year to HKD 708.6 million.
The age of the victim ranges from 14 to 86 years old. The case with the highest losses involved a 54 year old accountant who made 97 payments to 43 different personal bank accounts in a false investment transaction, resulting in a loss of HKD 27 million.
The youngest victim was a 14-year-old boy who invested in a fake cryptocurrency trading platform with the advice of netizens on social media, resulting in a loss of HKD 7500.
According to reports, the two most common scams in Hong Kong are stock fraud and cryptocurrency fraud, both of which are increasing in cases. From January to April, a total of 675 cases of cryptocurrency fraud were reported, involving a total amount of HKD 466 million; 229 cases of stock fraud were reported, resulting in a total loss of HKD 121.9 million.
Senior Inspector Wu Junyao of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department stated that fraudsters often impersonate investment experts and introduce false investment platforms to victims.
When victims open accounts on these platforms, scammers will instruct them to transfer funds to their personal bank accounts and recharge their investment accounts, "he said. In order to gain the victim's trust in the initial investment, scammers will create false records on these accounts, as if the victim's assets have already grown
The picture shows the tram advertisement of the Hong Kong Bitcoin Association
The Hong Kong police advise people to be wary of requests to transfer funds to personal bank accounts, as it is often difficult to distinguish between fake investment applications and legitimate investment applications, making it a very good way to identify fraud,
When commenting on the increase in fraud incidents related to cryptocurrencies, Yang Huiyi, head of the Investor Education and Communications Department of the Investor and Wealth Management Education Committee, stated that Hong Kong has not yet issued a cryptocurrency platform license to serve retail investors, and Hong Kong regulatory authorities only began processing license applications for such platforms on June 1st.
There are various platforms offering cryptocurrency investments online, but starting from June 1st, their business in Hong Kong will not have a license, "she said. Investors need to carefully study the services provided on the platforms they use and assess their risks
People who receive suspicious phone calls, or see online sellers, dating requests, job advertisements, and investment websites can go to the police's Scammer to assess risks, or access the service through the CyberDefender website.
