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Jess Ma

Hong Kong recorded a 15 per cent drop in investment scam cases in the first half of this year, but losses remained high at HK$1.65 billion (US$210 million), with police warning of fraudsters posing as representatives of legitimate overseas firms to swindle investors.
Senior Superintendent Fanny Kung Hing-fun said on Friday that some of these firms of purported overseas origins did not exist at all, or had records of fraudulent activity in other countries.
“For some of them, even their purported person in charge or stars featured in their advertisements were generated by artificial intelligence,” Kung said.
“These so-called registered overseas licences were merely a guise for them, or the actual licence held did not allow them to conduct the kinds of investment offered.”
The single largest case in the first half of 2026 concerned a 67-year-old merchant, who lost HK$48.79 million from July last year to January this year in a “pig butchering” scam involving sham crypto investments.
Hong Kong recorded 2,151 investment scam cases during this period, marking a 14.81 per cent drop from 2,525 in the same period last year.
But total losses edged down by just 1.98 per cent to HK$1.65 billion for the first half of 2026, from HK$1.69 billion recorded in the same period last year.
An overwhelming 97 per cent of cases originated through online encounters, yielding losses of HK$1.58 billion, or 93 per cent of the total amount.

Acting superintendent Lo Yuen-shan of the force’s commercial crime bureau also revealed that losses from a “Fun Coffee” scam uncovered last week had reached HK$113 million and involved 273 victims as of Thursday.
Hong Kong and Macau police arrested eight people earlier in the month for operating a suspected Ponzi scheme syndicate under the name of Fun Coffee, which claimed to be a coffee investment enterprise based in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, with assets of more than US$1 billion and a team of more than 5,000.
Victims had told police that they were invited to download an app with the name of the sham company to invest in virtual assets, before the app suddenly went offline on July 20.
The acting superintendent said officers would investigate all people connected to the case, including those who had promoted the company.
“Not every person who introduces others to the scheme must have already committed a crime. Police will assess each individual based on evidence and investigation,” Lo said.
Kung said some scammers posing as investment firms would organise real-life events featuring celebrities and influencers, in a bid to establish an affluent image to attract potential victims.
Fun Coffee organised a jogging event at the West Kowloon Cultural District in December last year, with TVB actor Louis Yuen Siu-cheung hosting.


Another way to feign credibility and lure cash-hungry investors would be to highlight artificial intelligence, automated algorithms for transactions and virtual assets in the firm’s investments, according to Kung.
“When artificial intelligence development is so rapid, it is easy for people to think there are lots of investment opportunities there, leading them to fall for scammers’ tricks,” Kung said.
But she warned that celebrities or influencers who promoted fraudulent investment products could face criminal charges.
She cited the example of the JPEX fraud case, which resulted in losses of HK$1.6 billion in 2023, noting the influencers involved in promoting the sham cryptocurrency platform had been charged.
A source previously told the South China Morning Post that lawyer-turned-influencer Joseph Lam Chok and influencer Chan Wing-yee were among those charged with money laundering.
Kung urged residents to remain vigilant when investing in a new product, saying they should conduct checks on the company’s background before putting in funds.
She added that residents should only invest through licensed platforms and check the Securities and Futures Commission’s alert list on suspicious virtual assets trading platforms as a reference.
Investors should also refrain from transferring funds to personal bank accounts, she said.
Blockchain expert Louis Li Sze-chung said investing in crypto exchanges that were unlicensed in the city was a natural loophole for residents, but also a common phenomenon under varying cross-border regulations and the online nature of cryptocurrency trading.
“These exchanges could be legal somewhere else, but not here,” Li said.
However, Li warned that anyone asking a local retail investor to trade in USDT, an unlicensed stablecoin, would be a suspicious sign of fraudulent behaviour.
USDT is one of the largest stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged one to one with the US dollar, worldwide. However, it is not licensed under Hong Kong’s stablecoin regime.
“There is no legal channel for retail investors to access USDT. It is precisely because the government is regulating the sector that over-the-counter shops cannot simply sell USDT to a retail investor,” Li said.
In Hong Kong, only professional investors with HK$8 million in liquid assets can trade non-licensed stablecoins such as USDT.


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Crime in Hong Kong

Investment scam cases in Hong Kong drop 15%, but losses remain high at HK$1.65b

Hong Kong recorded 2,151 investment scam cases in the first half of 2026. Photo: Getty Images

Senior Superintendent Fanny Kung (left) and acting superintendent Lo Yuen-shan. The number of investment scam cases has dropped in Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong, Macau police arrest 8 over HK$100m Vietnam coffee investment scam

The syndicate claims on its website to be a coffee investment enterprise based in Vietnam. Photo: Handout

In December, Fun Coffee staged a jogging event in West Kowloon. Photo: Handout

Former Standard Chartered bank staff jailed over HK$28m Africa investment scam

Woo Man‑ho and Chan Tak‑ching, both 39, were jailed for three years for helping a syndicate defraud Japanese investors with sham guarantees for African investment projects. Photo: Nathan Tsui

District Court judge Clement Lee has condemned the serious breach of trust, saying the pair’s actions undermined investor confidence in Standard Chartered Bank. Photo: Jelly Tse

Hong Kong woman swindles landlords out of HK$4.3m in crypto investment scam

A 67-year-old woman has been arrested after conning two landlords out of HK$4.3 million in a cryptocurrency investment scam. Photo: Getty Images

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Cases fall from 2,525 to 2,151 in first half of 2026, as police warn of fraudsters posing as representatives of overseas firms


Cases fall from 2,525 to 2,151 in first half of 2026, as police warn of fraudsters posing as representatives of overseas firms.


Hong Kong police

Scams and swindles

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Investment scam cases in Hong Kong drop 15%, but losses remain high at HK$1.65b

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Cases fall from 2,525 to 2,151 in first half of 2026, as police warn of fraudsters posing as representatives of overseas firms

Cases fall from 2,525 to 2,151 in first half of 2026, as police warn of fraudsters posing as representatives of overseas firms