¡80 casos de estafas en criptomonedas en Hong Kong en una semana! Una mujer fue engañada y perdió millones de dólares creyendo en una promesa de ganancias garantizadas mediante trading cuantitativo con IA.

Hong Kong experiences a large-scale cryptocurrency scam, with over 80 reports in a single week, and total losses exceeding 80 million HKD. The scammers use methods such as AI quantitative trading and love scams to induce victims to transfer crypto assets multiple times.

Over 80 scam cases in a week, with total losses surpassing 80 million HKD

Recently, Hong Kong has seen a surge in large-scale cryptocurrency fraud cases, drawing high attention from law enforcement. According to local authorities, more than 80 related scam reports have been recorded in one week, with total losses exceeding 80 million HKD (about 10.2 million USD).

Police indicate that scam techniques are continuously evolving, combining crypto assets with popular technological concepts, causing both the number of cases and the scale of losses to rise simultaneously. Victims span different age groups, many of whom are first-time crypto investors.

This wave of scams mainly spreads through social media platforms and instant messaging tools. Scammers often pose as investment advisors or professional traders, promoting “low risk, high return” tactics to gradually persuade victims to invest funds.

Fake AI Quantitative Trading Tactics, Woman Loses Over 1 Million USD in 17 Transfers

In an exposed case, a woman believed in an “AI quantitative trading” investment opportunity and ultimately lost about 7.7 million HKD (around 1 million USD).

It is understood that the victim initially received information from a stranger on the messaging app Telegram. The other party claimed to be an investment expert and stated that they used artificial intelligence algorithms to trade in the crypto market, generating stable high returns.

After multiple communications and persuasion, the victim was guided to a fake investment platform and instructed to transfer funds to a designated wallet address. She made 17 transfers involving $USDT and assets such as Ethereum ($ETH).

When attempting to withdraw funds, the platform delayed for various reasons, revealing the scam. Police pointed out that the so-called “AI quantitative trading” and “guaranteed profits” are common scam tactics with no real investment basis.

Love Scam Combined with Crypto Assets, Victim Loses Over 250,000 USD

Another case presents a different scam pattern. A woman over 50 was approached by a stranger on social platform Instagram. The scammer built an emotional connection through long-term interaction, gradually gained trust, and then guided her into fake crypto investments.

The victim paid about 40,000 HKD (around 5,000 USD) as an account opening fee, then repeatedly went to physical exchange stores to convert cash into cryptocurrencies and transferred them into a designated wallet. The entire process involved 7 transactions, with total losses exceeding 2 million HKD (about 250,000 USD).

Police state that this type of “love scam” usually lasts several months, using emotional manipulation to lower victims’ defenses. Once the funds are transferred, scammers cut off contact and disappear.

Scams Combining Crypto and AI Narratives, Regulatory and Anti-Fraud Pressures Rise

Hong Kong police emphasize that, scam groups are heavily using keywords like “AI,” “quantitative trading,” “stable returns,” etc., packaging these with the market’s knowledge gap about new technologies to make investment opportunities appear professional and trustworthy.

Since crypto assets have irreversible transactions, once funds are transferred out, recovery is extremely difficult, leading to generally higher losses in such cases. Authorities urge the public to avoid trusting unknown investment advice and to remain highly alert to any promises of guaranteed returns.

Globally, crypto scams and cybersecurity incidents continue to rise. Law enforcement is strengthening cross-border cooperation and on-chain tracking capabilities. However, before market education and investor risk awareness mature, such cases may still occur, becoming significant concerns in the Web3 development process.

This content is summarized by Crypto Agent from various sources, reviewed and edited by “Crypto City.” It is still in training, and may contain logical biases or inaccuracies. The content is for reference only; do not consider it investment advice.