Why do so many Hongkongers fall victim to money scams? Head of investor education body has answers

While residents are knowledgeable about investing, they tend to be forgetful of advice, says Investor Financial Education Council chairman

Body led by Victor Dawes is trying new approach to educating public: games using immersive experience at its learning centre to get across basics of smart investing

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Hong Kong police last year handled 5,105 reports of online investment fraud, up by 170 per cent from the 1,884 cases logged in 2022. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:01pm, 21 Apr 2024

Hongkongers are knowledgeable about investments but still expose themselves to scams because they tend to forget useful advice, according to the head of a body dedicated to making residents smarter with their money.

Victor Dawes, chairman of the Investor Financial Education Council, said interest in investment was prevalent in the city, but an ever-evolving list of reminders was nonetheless indispensable in keeping residents informed and their money safe.

“I think people are more knowledgeable than in the past, but unfortunately, when you talk about potential pitfalls and scams, they are also becoming more and more clever,” said Dawes, a senior counsel and the chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association.

The number of investment scam cases has continued to rise in recent years, despite the council and various authorities such as police repeatedly warning the public of traps and issuing alerts through fraud detection systems.

The force last year handled 5,105 reports of online investment fraud, up by 170 per cent from the 1,884 cases logged in 2022. Losses last year reached HK$3.2 billion (US$409 million), a 250 per cent increase over the amount recorded in 2022.

The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange JPEX last September was the city’s largest fraud case to date, with 2,569 victims losing an estimated HK$1.57 billion as of the end of October last year.