How to avoid being easy prey for online romance scams
Such schemes are back in the spotlight after several high-profile politicians find their photos on fake Facebook profiles
Tien has ended up as the face of “George Gavino”, who studied at the University of Liverpool; Tai Wing-keung, a private contractor living in Ontario, California; an offshore oil rig worker called Ryan Chang Lin; and four other Facebook accounts – none of them made by him.
Every one of these impostors claims to be single, and the fact that many of them have attracted mostly female friends suggests the accounts were being used for one of the many online romance scams plaguing the city.
Tien and So both said they had reported the accounts to Facebook but the company had been slow to take them down.
1. How bad is the online romance scam problem in Hong Kong?
According to police statistics, online romance scammers conned 463 Hongkongers out of a total of HK$398 million (US$51 million) in the first nine months of this year. The number was a significant increase from the 142 victims in the same period last year, involving losses of HK$78.1 million.