The Hong Kong Police Cyber Crime Bureau has issued a public warning following a case where a 66-year-old retired man lost his entire life savings of HK$6.6 million (approximately $840,000) in three separate cryptocurrency scams over six months.
The series of frauds began in September 2025 when the victim received a WhatsApp message from a scammer posing as a "virtual currency investment expert." The fraudster promised guaranteed profits and convinced the retiree to transfer HK$1.4 million ($180,000) and deposit cryptocurrency into a controlled wallet, after which the scammer vanished.
After reporting the first incident to police, the victim, unwilling to accept the loss, searched online for help. He was contacted by a second fraudster claiming to be a "crypto expert" who could recover the stolen funds. This individual demanded a security deposit of 600,000 yuan ($75,000), which the victim paid, only for the second scammer to disappear as well.
In January 2026, a third scammer contacted the victim via WhatsApp, offering to reclaim all prior losses. This fraudster insisted the victim purchase 4.6 million yuan ($585,000) worth of cryptocurrency and send it to a specified address. Once the victim complied, the third scammer also disappeared, bringing the total losses to HK$6.6 million.
In a Facebook post on March 20, the police's CyberDefender unit highlighted the case as an example of how fraudsters "recycle the same victim through successive schemes." They warned that genuine professionals do not rely on random outreach and that phrases like "guaranteed returns" and "inside information" are classic red flags.
The incident occurs against a backdrop of rising Web3 fraud. Security firm Hacken reported that Web3 platforms saw about $3.95 billion in losses in 2025. Authorities worldwide, including the FBI, have also flagged new waves of phishing and investment fraud, such as fake tokens on the Tron blockchain impersonating law enforcement.
