Losses from cryptocurrency scams double to HK$1.7 billion in Hong Kong last year, with 67 per cent spike in cases
- According to police, 2,336 cryptocurrency-related scams reported in Hong Kong last year
- One woman vice-president of fashion company duped out of digital tokens worth HK$6 million trying to buy kitten
Financial losses from cryptocurrency-related scams doubled to more than HK$1.7 billion (US$216.6 million) in Hong Kong last year, as the number of victims tricked into funnelling digital assets to online swindlers jumped 67 per cent
Latest police figures showed the scams accounted for more than half of the HK$3.2 billion conned out of city residents, as well as some victims living abroad, in nearly 23,000 reports of technology crimes last year.
According to the force, 2,336 cryptocurrency-related scams were reported in Hong Kong last year – a 67 per cent rise from 1,397 cases logged in 2021. The cases involved about HK$1.7 billion in funds, a 106 per cent increase from the year before.
Sources said police had witnessed an increase in the use of cryptocurrency as a medium for internet scams as fraudsters were able to conceal their identities in transactions and hide the origin, flow and final destination of their proceeds of crime.
One insider admitted the anonymity of cryptocurrency trading made their money-tracing task “more difficult”.
He said he also believed the greater prevalence of cryptocurrency in scams was one of the factors behind a 43 per cent drop in the amount of money stolen through fraud and intercepted by police in 2022, reaching the lowest level since 2019.
The force set up its anti-deception coordination centre in July 2017 to track down illegal funds and identify new tactics used by swindlers.