Hong Kong accountant swindled out of HK$2.2 million after man with ‘insider information’ lures him into setting up account on fake stock trading app
- Scammer in WhatsApp group convinced accountant, 51, to transfer money into five designated bank accounts to invest in mainland stocks
- Bogus app showed fake transactions and returns to trick people into making more investments, source says
A Hong Kong accountant has been swindled out of nearly HK$2.2 million (US$282,050) after being tricked into investing in mainland Chinese stocks on a fake trading app.
The 51-year-old man received a WhatsApp message on November 2 from a woman introducing herself and claiming to be an employee of online stock trading platform Futubull. He also joined a WhatsApp group at her request.
A male group member claimed he had “inside investment information” about mainland stocks and lured the victim into setting up an account on a bogus online trading app, a source familiar with the case on Thursday said.
The source said the fraudulent app showed fake transactions and returns to trick people into making more investments.
The scammer in the group convinced the accountant to transfer HK$1.94 million into five designated bank accounts to invest in mainland stocks. He believed the investments were real as he tracked the app and it showed his balance was increasing.