A mainland Chinese university student in Hong Kong has lost about HK$1 million (US$127,500) in a scam after a fraudster accused her of involvement in a criminal case and demanded “guarantees”. Police said they received a report from a 19-year-old student at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) at 1.07am on Sunday. The…
Police officers patrol a street in Mong Kok, Hong Kong on Feb 19, 2026. (PHOTO COURTESY OF ZOU YIFU) The Fun Coffee cryptocurrency investment scam has highlighted the rising ingenuity of Ponzi schemes in the era of artificial intelligence, with experts calling for early detection of suspicious blockchain wallets using tech tools and cross-jurisdiction data…
A Hong Kong woman has been conned out of nearly HK$69 million (US$8.8 million) in a month-long scam involving fraudsters posing as mainland Chinese officials. Police said on Friday that the 43-year-old woman received calls from people claiming to be mainland law enforcement officers, who accused her of committing a crime and demanded money to…
A Hong Kong lawmaker has warned that an unfolding crypto scam run by a coffee investment venture based in Vietnam could involve more than 1,000 victims, as an investor reported losses of HK$14 million (US$1.73 million) across her team. The warning came as police said that total reported losses tied to the syndicate operating as…
A Hong Kong physiotherapist has been scammed out of HK$5 million (US$637,570) after falling victim to an online investment trap that involved helping a virtual “beautiful assistant” hit sales targets, police have said. The case, revealed by police on Monday via their Facebook page, was among more than 80 reports of online investment scams received…
Hong Kong police have arrested 69 people linked to a syndicate suspected of laundering about HK$200 million (US$25.5 million) from cross-border investment fraud affecting more than 170 victims. The force said on Tuesday that 54 men and 15 women, aged between 18 and 60, were arrested on Monday in a joint operation with mainland Chinese…
A Hong Kong woman has lost more than HK$1 million (US$127,636) after being lured into a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme disguised as an artificial intelligence-powered trading app, with police reporting that over 70 similar scams had been recorded in the past week alone, resulting in total losses exceeding HK$50 million. Details released on the police’s CyberDefender…
Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has warned of a new scam in which fraudsters impersonate an electrical appliance retailer to offer compensation or product replacements, with losses totalling HK$17,000 (US$2,170) in one case. A spokesman for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said on Thursday that it had received 24 complaints and seven…
A Hong Kong car owner has lost HK$500,000 (US$63,800) to scammers posing as petrol company staff who exploited surging fuel prices by offering bogus top-up deals for membership cards, police have said. The victim received unsolicited WhatsApp messages from fraudsters claiming to represent a fuel company, according to a post on the force’s CyberDefender Facebook…
A Hong Kong court has remanded in custody another 10 people in connection with the HK$1.6 billion (US$205.8 million) in JPEX cryptocurrency scandal, bringing the number prosecuted in the city’s largest alleged financial fraud in recent years to 26. The latest development came nearly three years after the scandal broke out in 2023, when police…