Dating app scam using fake AI pitch costs woman HK$2.1 million
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong police said on October 7 that a woman in her 30s was cheated out of more than HK$2.1 million after meeting a man on a dating app who claimed to be from Taiwan. After gaining her trust, the scammer directed her to a fake AI content-generation website and said she could earn substantial commissions by buying “AI computing power” to produce short videos. He then told her to upload the videos to another designated but fake video platform, where apparent profits later appeared in her account. When she tried to withdraw the money, customer service demanded a 20% handling fee, refused the withdrawal, and the man then disappeared.
Key Points
- Police said the case was disclosed on October 7 through the CyberDefender social media platform run by the force
- The victim, described as a woman aged about 30, met a man on a dating app who said he was from Taiwan.
- After winning her confidence, the scammer introduced a fake AI-generation website selling supposed “AI computing power” for short-video production.
- Following instructions from bogus customer service staff, she transferred more than HK$2.1 million into designated personal bank accounts.
- The fake video platform showed paper profits of more than HK$300,000, but withdrawal was blocked unless she paid a 20% fee.
Why It Matters
The case shows how online romance scams are being repackaged with trendy technology language, using terms such as AI and computing power to make fraudulent schemes appear credible. Police warned that online acquaintances who quickly steer conversations toward “money-making” tasks, especially those promising low risk and high returns, are a major danger sign, and that legitimate platforms do not ask users to transfer funds into personal bank accounts