Hong Kong man loses HK$2.8 million in investment scam, among 50 cases in past week

A Hong Kong man has lost more than HK$2.8 million (US$357,000) in an online investment scam in which fraudsters claiming to be employees of electricity…

A Hong Kong man has lost more than HK$2.8 million (US$357,000) in an online investment scam in which fraudsters claiming to be employees of electricity companies duped him into investing in a “recyclable waste project”.

Police also said on Wednesday that the force had recorded 50 investment scams in the past week, with the total losses exceeding HK$30 million.

The force said the man, who is in his sixties, became acquainted with the scammer on Facebook. The fraudster claimed to be an employee of CLP Power, one of Hong Kong’s electricity suppliers.

The scammer said the company was collaborating with the State Grid Corporation of China, a state-owned electricity supplier, on a “recyclable waste project”, describing it in messages without providing any official websites.

The victim then transferred HK$1.5 million to different bank accounts on the scammer’s instructions.

“When the victim raised doubts, the fraudster kept on boasting that the project had a high return, displaying a handwritten statement that no deception was involved and a picture of a forged Hong Kong identity card to reassure the victim and induce him to transfer another HK$1 million,” police said.