Woman Loses HK$1.1 Million in Running App Scam
AM730 · 2 SOURCES1 day ago2 MIN
Summary
A 50-year-old woman was cheated out of more than HK$1.1 million after being drawn into a scheme built around a mobile app that claimed users could earn money by completing running tasks. The investment was introduced through a friend she had not contacted for years, and her confidence in the project grew after she attended offline banquets hosted by celebrities and was told to invest through cryptocurrency channels.
Key Points
- Police said on September 8 that the woman, aged about 50, was approached by a long-lost friend offering a part-time “team leader” role for filming running promotional videos.
- The friend later connected her on WhatsApp with a person calling himself “General Manager Li”, who instructed her to register an account on a virtual-currency platform.
- After receiving “funding” and promotional props and completing the filming work, she was told a month later that a company app would pay users for finishing running tasks.
- Attracted by the promised high returns, she repeatedly deposited money into a cryptocurrency wallet, attended several celebrity-hosted offline dinners, and invested more than HK$1.1 million in total.
- She discovered the fraud only after failing to withdraw funds nine months later, as police warned that such Ponzi-style scams often use early payouts, lavish events, recruitment incentives and crypto transfers.
Why It Matters
Police used the case to warn that polished branding, physical offices and celebrity appearances do not make an investment genuine, especially when “guaranteed high returns” and “zero risk” are being promoted. They urged anyone in doubt to call the Anti-Scam Helpline 18222.