An Italian man in Hong Kong was duped out of more than $1.8 million in five weeks after being scammed by his online love interest. According to a South China Morning Post report, the man was tricked by his online lover into investing in cryptocurrency.
The 55-year-old man was living in the Western District and fell victim to the romance scam in mid-February after he replied to a message from the dating app Tinder. The message was sent by a con artist posing as a female investment broker from Singapore.
Soon after that message, the pair stayed connected and interacted regularly over WhatsApp. The two developed an online romantic relationship. The media outlet reported that the man was convinced to set up an account on a bogus trading website to invest in digital money.
The source told the outlet, "The victim was told that investing digital money could provide high returns."
Between March 6 and 23, the Italian man made around 22 transactions by putting money into nine different accounts. He grew suspicious after he realised that he is not getting his money back even after investing, he took the matter to the police late last month.
The police are now investing the case as "obtaining property by deception" - an offence punishable by up to 10 years in jail under the Theft Ordinance.
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