A Hong Kong woman has reportedly lost more than HK$26m (£2.6m; $3.3m) after an online romantic partner persuaded her to invest in cryptocurrency through a fraudulent trading platform.
Police recorded 25 investment fraud cases linked to online romantic relationships in the week ending 30 July, according to statistics cited by Binance Square News.
The combined losses from those cases were nearly HK$70m, worth about $9m, with the single case involving the 50-year-old insurance professional accounting for more than a third of the total.
The woman reportedly met a man online who claimed to be a car dealer. After establishing a romantic relationship, he encouraged her to place money into virtual currencies using an unfamiliar investment platform.
She continued transferring funds after the website showed her account balance rising. By last month, the platform claimed her portfolio had produced returns of more than 800%.
When she attempted to withdraw her money, however, the request was refused. The man posing as her romantic partner and another person presented as an investment adviser subsequently stopped replying to her messages.
The woman’s total losses exceeded HK$26m. Authorities have not said which cryptocurrencies were involved or confirmed whether any of the money has been recovered.
The case reflects a widely reported pattern in relationship-based cryptocurrency fraud. Criminals typically make contact through dating applications, social media or messaging platforms and spend time building a sense of trust before introducing an investment opportunity.
Victims are then directed to websites or applications controlled by the fraudsters. Those platforms can show fake profits, permit a small withdrawal at the beginning, or pressure users into depositing increasingly large sums.
The deception often becomes clear only when a victim tries to withdraw a substantial amount. The operators may block the transaction or demand further payments, describing them as taxes, processing fees or penalties.
Hong Kong police have urged the public to be wary of investment advice from people they have only recently met online. Promises of guaranteed returns, unusually high profits and requests to send money through unfamiliar platforms were identified as warning signs.
The FBI has described the same method, warning that criminals control the supposed investments and frequently take all the funds deposited by their victims.
The romance-related cases form part of a broader rise in online fraud affecting people in Hong Kong. Between January and May 2025, police recorded 2,148 online employment scams, a 92.1% increase on the same period in the previous year, according to figures reported by the South China Morning Post and HRD Asia.
Losses rose from HK$260m to HK$480m, an increase of 89%. There were 621 cases in May alone; 60% began on WhatsApp and a further 22% originated on Telegram.
Investigators linked much of the increase to “click farming” scams. Fraudsters initially offer small commissions for straightforward tasks such as following social media accounts or buying products to make a seller appear more active.
Once a victim has gained confidence in the scheme, the criminals ask them to provide larger sums for assignments promising greater rewards. When the victim seeks to withdraw their money, the operators may claim that an error was made or that the company’s system was damaged, and demand a penalty.
Cryptocurrency investment fraud is also a major threat in the United States. It generated $7.2bn in reported losses during 2025, making it the largest category of financial loss reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
The FBI’s 2025 report said scammers commonly approach victims through social media, dating sites and unsolicited messages before shifting conversations to private messaging services.
US authorities advise victims to stop sending money immediately and retain wallet addresses, transaction hashes, platform domains and communications. They also warn against supposed recovery services, which can target people who have already lost money in a second scam.
Hong Kong police have similarly advised people not to relax their financial safeguards because of emotional attachment or trust. Investors are encouraged to verify platforms independently and avoid opportunities promising guaranteed or abnormally high returns.
