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Leopold Chen

A Hong Kong man has lost more than HK$2.8 million (US$357,000) in an online investment scam in which fraudsters claiming to be employees of electricity companies duped him into investing in a “recyclable waste project”.
Police also said on Wednesday that the force had recorded 50 investment scams in the past week, with the total losses exceeding HK$30 million.
The force said the man, who is in his sixties, became acquainted with one of the scammers on Facebook. The fraudster claimed to be an employee of CLP Power, one of Hong Kong’s electricity suppliers.
The scammer said the company was collaborating with the State Grid Corporation of China, a state-owned electricity supplier, on a “recyclable waste project”, describing it in messages without providing any official websites.
The victim then transferred HK$1.5 million to different bank accounts on the scammer’s instructions.
“When the victim raised doubts, the fraudster kept on boasting that the project had a high return, displaying a handwritten statement that no deception was involved and a picture of a forged Hong Kong identity card to reassure the victim and induce him to transfer another HK$1 million,” police said.

Later, another fraudster claiming to be a State Grid employee contacted the victim on WhatsApp and sent him images of a forged staff card and a fake HK$9 million cheque, claiming the project had yielded profits.
The scammer demanded further payments from the man before he could receive the “dividends”, which led the victim to believe he had been scammed.
According to the force, the man lost more than HK$2.8 million to the scammers.
Police said residents should verify the identities of company employees through official channels before making investments and should not disclose sensitive personal data to others, including those claiming to be “internal employees” of any organisation.
“Never trust investments claiming ‘high returns with zero risk’ [and] never transfer money to unknown personal bank accounts,” it added.


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Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Fraudsters conned victim in his sixties into investing in fraudulent ‘recyclable waste project’ by energy giants in Hong Kong, mainland China


Fraudsters conned victim in his sixties into investing in fraudulent ‘recyclable waste project’ by energy giants in Hong Kong, mainland China.


Scams and swindles

Hong Kong society

China

Hong Kong man loses HK$2.8 million in investment scam, among 50 cases in past week

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Fraudsters conned victim in his sixties into investing in fraudulent ‘recyclable waste project’ by energy giants in Hong Kong, mainland China

Fraudsters conned victim in his sixties into investing in fraudulent ‘recyclable waste project’ by energy giants in Hong Kong, mainland China