More than 600 Hongkongers fell victim to investment scams in July, as police warn of fraudsters offering AI-backed stocks

More than 600 Hongkongers fell victim to online investment fraud in July as swindlers posing as experts tricked some to buy stocks they claimed were selected by artificial intelligence (AI) software, the Post has learned. The figure was more than twice the average monthly total of 244 recorded so far this year. Provisional figures showed police handled 1,222 reports of investment scams between January and May, up 89 per cent from the 646 cases logged over the same period last year. Losses from such scams also reached HK$624 million (US$80 million) over the first five months of this year, more than double the HK$310 million recorded during the same period in 2022. Hong Kong police arrest 6 men in crackdown on HK$175 million scam syndicate “Intelligence indicates that two to three fraud syndicates are operating from Asian countries and targeting the city’s residents,” a force insider said. The force was seeking help from overseas law enforcement agencies via Interpol to track down the syndicate’s bases of operations and crack down on those involved, he said. The Post learned that one of the syndicates was operating in Myanmar. Last year, some Hongkongers were lured to Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar and Cambodia, with dubious offers of a well-paid job. On arrival, their passports were allegedly taken and they were forced to work in so-called scam parks running phone or online ruses. Police posted an alert on its CyberDefender Facebook page on Monday, confirming more than 600 online investment scams were reported in July and warning the public to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. The force did not provide any details about the total amount of money lost by victims. In some instances, fraudsters posing as stock analysts posted adverts on social media, claiming they used AI software to hand-pick investment options, the force said. “They then invited netizens to join chat groups on Telegram and WhatsApp, where ‘experts’ shared inside investment information,” it added. One victim was duped out of HK$4.3 million after scammers tricked her into setting up an account on a bogus online investment platform. Scammers lured her into transferring the money to a designated bank account they controlled. The victim contacted police earlier in July when she was unable to withdraw the cash. The source noted victims were generally persuaded to set up an account on a bogus trading website or app to invest in stocks from Hong Kong, mainland China and overseas, as well as cryptocurrency. “Fraudsters control fake information, including the price of stock and digital coins and positive returns, displayed on bogus investment websites or apps,” he said. He stressed that no actual investments were made and all the money went directly into the scammers’ hands. Hong Kong police intercepted more than HK$11 billion in scam money over 6 years The source said swindlers also approached victims via dating websites, explaining: “They befriended their targets and developed an online romantic relationship before coaxing the victims into making an investment in such bogus trading platforms.” Another source said he believed some of the investment frauds recorded this year involved bogus online romances, but victims did not reveal this as they were embarrassed and did not want family members to know. He said this might be one of the factors behind a 12 per cent drop in the number of internet love scams reported this year. Provisional figures showed online romance scammers duped 569 people out of HK$315 million between January and May this year. Police handled 649 cases of the love scams in the same period in 2022 involving losses of HK$282 million. An Italian financial consultant in March was duped out of more than HK$14 million after being tricked by his bogus online lover into investing in cryptocurrency. One of this year’s most serious cases involved a 54-year-old accountant who lost HK$27 million after a scammer tricked her into making 97 payments to 43 different personal bank accounts as part of a sham investment deal. A total of 1,884 online investment scams were reported to police last year, nearly double the 980 cases in 2021. Reported losses also rose to HK$926 million from HK$472 million. Officers from the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre, which is responsible for tracking scammed cash, have prevented more than HK$11 billion from going into the hands of criminals since it was set up about six years ago.