Woman loses HK$300,000 in scam recovery trap
HK01 · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A Hong Kong woman who had already lost HK$1.2 million in an investment scam was allegedly deceived a second time when seeking help to recover the money. The other side claimed a so-called “anti-fraud ambassador” could use a back-end system to attack fraudulent websites and forcibly retrieve all losses. She was then induced to deposit cryptocurrency into another fake website for the supposed recovery process, losing more than HK$300,000 more. Her total loss exceeded HK$1.5 million within a month before she finally reported the case to police
Key Points
- The victim first fell for an investment scam and lost HK$1.2 million before trying to find a way to recover the money
- She then approached a purported “anti-fraud alliance lawyer” offering recovery services, only to be drawn into a second scam
- The scammers claimed an “anti-fraud ambassador” could exploit a back-end system to attack scam websites and force a full refund
- They persuaded her to place cryptocurrency into another fake platform supposedly needed to pursue the recovery, costing her over HK$300,000
- Police said similar scams had already been publicised in 2024, including sponsored Google results posing as anti-fraud groups and law firms
Why It Matters
The case shows how fraudsters target victims a second time by exploiting their unwillingness to accept earlier losses and their urgency to recover money. Police warnings about sponsored search results and fake recovery websites are directly relevant to Hong Kong internet users who may mistake paid listings for trustworthy help