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

Hong Kong experiences a large-scale crypto scam outbreak, with over 80 reports in a single week, and total losses surpassing 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 exceeding 80 million HKD

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

Police point out 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 lure victims into investing funds.

Fake AI quantitative trading tactics, woman loses over 1 million USD after 17 transfers

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

It is understood that the victim initially received unknown information via the messaging app Telegram. The other party claimed to be an investment expert and stated that they used artificial intelligence algorithms to conduct crypto market trading, which could generate stable high returns.

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

It was only when she tried to withdraw funds that 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 USD 250,000 again

Another case presents a different scam model. 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 led her to participate in fake crypto investments.

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

Police state that this type of “romance 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, increased regulatory and anti-fraud pressure

Hong Kong police emphasize that, scam groups are heavily using keywords like “AI,” “quantitative trading,” “stable returns,” etc., packaging their schemes by exploiting market misunderstandings of new technologies, making investment opportunities appear professional and trustworthy.

Since crypto assets have irreversible transactions, once funds are transferred out, recovery is extremely difficult, leading to generally high 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 article is compiled by Crypto Agent from various sources, reviewed and edited by “Crypto City.” It is still in training, and may contain logical biases or informational errors. Content is for reference only; do not consider it investment advice.