- Hong Kong (HK) Dollar 143.6 million extorted by romance cryptocurrency scam
- Hong Kong police launches public campaign against rising romance cryptocurrency scam
- HK $ 2.3 billion blocked by Hong Kong police to prevent fraudulent cryptocurrency scams
Fraudulent cryptocurrency crimes and thefts have been a major global concern. A new scheme recognized by the Hongkong police has scammed the citizens of millions of dollars. Combining the techniques of love scam and deceptive financing schemes, the international scammers duped several Hong-Kongers before the news came to light.
Romance cryptocurrency scam
The new romance cryptocurrency scam has exploited targets and extorted Hong Kong (HK) Dollar 143.6 million (US$18.5 million) this year. The latest data reveals that romance scams have increased by 54 percent, which accounts for over 600 cases in 2020 to date as opposed to 391 cases last year. Cryptocurrency seems to be the major player in this emerging trend.
Up to 80 romance cryptocurrency scams are being reported monthly as per police officials and prodded them to initiate a public service campaign to spread awareness on the rapidly growing crime center and request the public to stay observant.
The smart con artists posing as professionals of notable fields convince their online lovers of their successful gain of profits through online app-based investments and in turn invite the targeted victims to make an investment.
The victims are guided through a series of steps involving downloading a fraudster controlled mobile app that displays cryptocurrency pricing and results of the investments made. The highly attractive fake results published on the app lure the victims into making massive investments. As per sources, the money is never involved in any investment but pulled off the app by the fraudsters.
Most victims have lost at least HK dollar 20,000 in the romance crypto scams and have realized once the attempt to withdraw the money through the fraudulent app was unsuccessfully followed by the vanishing of the online lover.
As per the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre of Hong Kong Police, up to HK $2.3 billion worth of transfers have been withheld, successfully protecting more than 180 targets to become victims to fraudulent online lovers.
