In a desperate attempt to recover her losses, a Hong Kong woman was scammed twice in one month, losing approximately HK$1.5 million after falling for a crypto scam.
The case was highlighted on the police’s CyberDefender Facebook page to warn about a growing trend of “secondary scams” that prey on victims’ desperation to recover lost funds.
According to the police, the woman fell for an online investment scam last month, where she was lured by fraudsters into depositing nearly HK$1.2 million to purchase cryptocurrency on a fake trading platform.
Finding it hard to accept her losses, the woman fell into a secondary scam when she encountered a website claiming to be the “Global Anti-Fraud Alliance.”
She was introduced to a self-proclaimed lawyer who, after she contacted customer service, promised to connect her with an “anti-fraud ambassador.”
Trusting that the “ambassador” could retrieve her lost funds by attacking the fraudulent platform’s backend system, the woman transferred an additional HK$300,000, only to discover she had fallen for another scam.
Police pointed out that fraudsters are exploiting victims’ determination to recover losses through online advertisements, impersonating law firms, anti-fraud organizations, and even hacker groups.
As victims are desperate to retrieve their losses, scammers reportedly push their fake websites to the top of search results, making people more vulnerable to secondary scams without raising suspicion.
Authorities urged the public to be cautious when encountering suspicious links and advised against clicking on them without verifying their authenticity.
Citizens are also urged to verify the credibility of investment information using the “Scameter” website or app, as well as the 18222 anti-scam hotline, to assess fraud risks.
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