Hong Kong Woman Loses $3.3 Million in Crypto Romance Scam Involving Fake Trading App

Hong Kong police disclosed that a local insurance agent in her 50s lost more than $3.3 million after being drawn into a fake crypto investment scheme by a man she met online. The case marked the largest among 25 romance scams reported in the city over a single week, which together caused nearly $8.9 million in losses.

Online Relationship Built Trust Before Investment Pitch

According to police, the victim was introduced to a contact last year through an insurance inquiry and later connected with a man calling himself “Uncle,” who claimed to work in the car trade. Their contact developed into an online romance, with the man presenting himself as attentive and financially savvy before steering her toward crypto investing.

Fake App Showed Fabricated Gains Before Withdrawal Was Blocked

Over about six months, the victim handed over $510,000 in cash and transferred nearly $2.8 million into various mule accounts. A fraudulent trading app later displayed returns of more than 800%, but withdrawal attempts were denied and her online contact vanished.

The case adds to growing global concern over so called pig butchering scams. Crypto fraud losses reached a record $11.3 billion last year, more than half of all internet crime losses tracked by the FBI. Hong Kong regulators have also ordered trading platforms to phase out one time password logins to curb account takeovers.