Elderly Woman Loses HK$6 Million in Facebook Scam
AM730 · 3 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A retired woman aged about 80 was allegedly defrauded of more than HK$6 million after meeting a scammer posing as an investment expert on Facebook and later continuing contact on WhatsApp. Police said the suspect spent around six months cultivating the relationship before promoting a supposedly tailor-made, high-return stock investment plan for retirees.
Key Points
- Police said on September 21 that more than 50 investment fraud cases were reported over the past week, involving total losses of nearly HK$30 million.
- In one case, an approximately 80-year-old retired woman met a fraudster on Facebook, then moved to WhatsApp and gradually became the scammer's “friend”.
- After learning she was retired and held time deposits, the scammer pitched a high-return stock plan supposedly designed for retirees and offered to manage it.
- The woman paid by cheque into an unidentified personal bank account designated by the fraudster and also handed cash to a man described as the scammer's “nephew”.
- She eventually handed over more than HK$6 million, but later failed to withdraw any money and lost contact with the fraudster, prompting the report.
Why It Matters
The case shows how online friendship-building can be used over months to target retirees with savings, especially when scammers present themselves as trusted financial specialists. With more than 50 such cases reported in a single week, the losses suggest investment fraud remains a significant public safety risk in Hong Kong.