Romance scam victims in Hong Kong conned out of more than HK$288 million as cases almost double

Number of romance scams rose to 822 in first six months of year, compared with 429 in same period last year

Overall, Hong Kong recorded 30,871 crimes in the first half, down 4.6 per cent from same period last year

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Victims of romance scams often found themselves deceived for a long period of time, police said. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 10:14pm, 27 Jul 2021Updated: 1:58am, 28 Jul 2021

Hong Kong victims of romance scams were conned out of more than HK$288 million in the first half of this year as the number of such cases almost doubled, figures released on Tuesday showed.

Deception cases recorded a 7 per cent year-on-year increase for the first six months, from 8,129 to 8,699, mainly because of a 91 per cent surge in romance scams.

The number of romance scams rose to 822 from 429 in the same period last year, with a 1.6-fold increase in losses, to more than HK$288 million, the latest report on law and order said.

The victim “often found himself or herself deceived after a substantial period of time, incurring relatively significant loss”, the police release said.

The force also said its Anti-Deception Coordination Centre managed to stop more than HK$600 million from ending in fraudsters’ pockets.

Seizures of five major drugs rose in the first half. Photo: May Tse

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