Recently, major investment fraud incidents have occurred consecutively in Hong Kong, with two cases totaling nearly 25 million Hong Kong dollars in losses. One businessman was deceived by a fake stock investment platform, losing more than 19 million Hong Kong dollars within four months, setting the record for the largest single online fraud case this year.
Fake Stock Program Swindles Corporate Executive’s Lifetime Savings
The victim in this case is a female corporate director in her fifties. In November last year, after seeing a stock investment advertisement on Facebook claiming “600% excess returns”, she contacted a scammer who posed as an “investment advisor” through a messaging app. The scammer persuaded her with professional rhetoric to download an application called “Cl Exp” for operations.
From late December last year to February this year, the victim transferred all her personal savings, company funds and money borrowed from relatives and friends, 22 transactions in total, into bank accounts controlled by the fraud syndicate. It was not until the bank proactively sent an “abnormal transfer alert message” that she realized she had been scammed and reported to the police. The police investigation revealed that the application was a completely fictitious investment platform.
Professionals Are Not Immune! Female Lawyer Loses 4.7 Million to Shell Company
Another case involved a practicing lawyer who, in 2017, met a local man claiming to be the “founder of FreeMind Fund”. The scammer maintained a long-term relationship with the victim through WeChat, luring her into transferring 4.7 million Hong Kong dollars into two local accounts. Years later, the victim verified and discovered that the fund company had never been legally registered, and the scammer had completely lost contact.
Three Anti-Fraud Guidelines to Protect Asset Security
Verify Platform Legitimacy: Before investing, be sure to check the company registration status through the “Integrated Companies Registry Information System” and confirm whether the application has been certified by the official app store.
Break the High-Return Myth: Statistics from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission show that the annual average return rate of legitimate investment products in 2024 is about 4-8%. Any claims of “guaranteed profit” or “monthly returns exceeding 15%” are abnormal.
Make Good Use of Anti-Fraud Tools: The Hong Kong Police Force’s “Scameter Scam Search Engine” and mobile application “Scameter+” can instantly analyze the risk levels of suspicious accounts, websites, and phone numbers. After entering the information, the system will issue alerts in three colors: red (high risk), orange (potential risk), and yellow (needs caution).
*The cases in this article are cited from publicly available information by the Hong Kong Police Force. Cashback Island reminds you: any investment scheme claiming “low risk and high returns” should be verified for legitimacy through multiple channels.
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