Hong Kong authorities report a retiree fell victim to repeated scams by individuals posing as crypto experts, resulting in significant financial losses.
Hong Kong police announced that a 66-year-old retiree lost about $840,000 in a series of three cryptocurrency investment scams. The scams involved fraudsters posing as "virtual currency experts" who contacted the victim via WhatsApp.
In the first incident, which occurred in September 2025, the scammer promised steady gains and advised the retiree to transfer $180,000 and deposit cryptocurrency into a specified wallet. After the transfer, the scammer disappeared, leading the victim to file a police report.
The retiree then sought help online and encountered a second scammer who claimed to recover the lost funds but demanded a $75,000 security deposit. Once paid, this individual also vanished, escalating the victim's losses.
Third Scam and Total Losses
In January, a third fraudster messaged the retiree on WhatsApp, offering to reclaim the previous losses in exchange for buying $585,000 worth of cryptocurrency and sending it to a given address. After compliance, this scammer disappeared as well, bringing the total loss to around $840,000 over six months.
Hong Kong's CyberDefender unit warned that genuine investment professionals do not use random outreach methods and highlighted red flags such as promises of "guaranteed returns" and "inside information." This case underscores the risks of crypto scams, as noted in the police's March 20 Facebook post.
The incidents align with reports of rising crypto-related fraud, including Web3 platform losses, though specific figures like $3.95 billion in 2025 losses are attributed to security firms in the source material.
