Email scams use romance, threats and fake inheritances
HK01 · 1 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A Hong Kong commentary outlines several common email scam tactics, including blackmail with fabricated intimate images and long-form English messages that mix romance, danger and promises of inherited wealth. The writer says he received multiple such emails while in Hong Kong, including one from a supposed female soldier who claimed she was heading to war and wanted to entrust him with money and a US$9 million family fortune.
Key Points
- The article says email fraud is pervasive in Hong Kong and elsewhere, with scams ranging from extortion over fake hotel-bed photos to inheritance and romance traps sent through overseas email accounts.
- The writer, who says he served 23 years as a university department head and dean, recalls receiving repeated blackmail emails using doctored sexual images and simply blocking them.
- He cites a police conversation claiming such extortion emails can have a success rate above 50%, as some officials and businesspeople pay to avoid reputational damage.
- In Hong Kong, he received English emails from supposed overseas senders, including one with a photo of an armed mixed-race woman claiming she was going to a battlefield.
- After a brief reply, the sender allegedly promised US$100,000 and access to a US$9 million inheritance, but demanded HK$50,000 first for an “international courier”.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the account shows how email scams can evolve from emotional persuasion into fee demands and intimidation once a target responds. It also suggests that people using overseas or corporate email systems may face more unsolicited fraud attempts and should treat secrecy requests, advance-fee demands and inheritance claims as warning signs.