London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Cryptocurrency crime in Hong Kong hits record levels, with one victim losing HK$124mil to fraudsters

Cryptocurrency crime in Hong Kong hits record levels, with one victim losing HK$124mil to fraudsters

Police say trend is down to more people staying home and going online amid Covid-19 pandemic. Crimes involving the digital currency tend to fall into categories such as money laundering, online shopping scams, or investment ruses.

Cryptocurrency crimes and the scale of losses in Hong Kong soared to record levels in the first six months of this year, with one victim conned out of HK$124mil (RM67.37mil).

Police logged 496 such cases involving victims losing a total of HK$214.4mil (RM116.50mil) in the first half of 2021. Across the whole of last year, total losses from 208 cases stood at HK$114.4mil (RM62.16mil).

Investing in cryptocurrency, a form of digital money that can be exchanged online for goods or services, has grown in popularity in recent years. Mainstream versions include tether, ethereum and bitcoin.

In the biggest Hong Kong case so far, police said a 30-year-old man was scammed out of HK$124mil (RM67.37mil) in June after a group presenting as cryptocurrency consultants disappeared with his money following the currency’s devaluation.

There were also three local cases this year in which people were robbed or conned out of millions of Hong Kong dollars in face-to-face cryptocurrency transactions.

Chief Inspector Lester Ip Cheuk-yu, of police’s cybersecurity and technology crime bureau, said not only was investing in digital currency especially popular this year, but the Covid-19 pandemic was a factor behind rising crime levels in this area.


“People have also been staying at home more, which means they spend longer on the Internet, so scammers have more avenues to approach them online,” he said. “This is a trend not just in Hong Kong but around the world.”

According to police, cryptocurrency crimes tend to fall into one of three categories: using cryptocurrency for money laundering; online shopping fraud where buyers or sellers may be robbed during face-to-face transactions; or investment scams where sellers disappear after taking a victim’s money.

Another common tactic involves online dating scams, where con artists gain victims’ trust to invest on their behalf.

“Citizens should think twice about whether the person asking them to make an investment is trustworthy, or whether meetup places for large transactions are safe,” Ip said.

In the case of the 30-year-old merchant who lost HK$124mil (RM67.37mil), the victim was approached by two men and a woman in their 30s introducing themselves as investment consultants. They recommended investing in Filecoin on the basis it would deliver big returns, Superintendent Wilson Fan Chun-yi said.

The victim handed over money in two instalments in February and April. Filecoin’s share price dropped from US$168 (RM709.80) to US$73 (RM308), prompting the victim in June to try and withdraw the cash. But the merchant could not contact the group and sought help from police.

In a survey conducted by police in July, about half of 441 respondents aged 18 and above said they were familiar with cryptocurrency.

However, not a single person correctly answered all five multiple choice questions related to cryptocurrency on where it can be obtained or traded.

“Many residents don’t understand cryptocurrency, or overestimate their knowledge of it,” Ip said. “It’s very easy for them to be scammed and lose large amounts of money.”

Victims of the scams range from those aged 14 to 72, though young people are especially at risk.

“Younger people tend to fall victim to these scams because many of them purchase coins from cryptocurrency ATMs, whereas older people might not be technologically savvy enough to know how to use them,” Ip explained.

Ip urged the public to do some research, steer clear of borrowing money to invest and not to blindly follow trends.

Those suspecting they had fallen for a scam should call police immediately, the chief inspector added.

“People should be fully aware of the risks [before they invest],” Ip said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×