In the first nine months of this year, the Hong Kong police received a total of 3,468 investment fraud cases involving about HK$2.2 billion, 35% of which involved virtual assets.

The Hong Kong police announced yesterday the figures and trends of online investment frauds. In the first nine months of this year, a total of 3,468 cases were received, with a total loss of about HK$2.2 billion. Although it was down from the same period last year, the number of cases in October this year increased by 24% from September, showing a rebound trend. Nearly 40% of the cases involved financial investment products, and 35% involved virtual assets. Among them, the largest single loss amount of virtual asset fraud was about HK$78.47 million. The victim was a female manager of a virtual currency company. She was induced by the scammers to open a video conversation to discuss investment details. As a result, her e-wallet account password was stolen, and then a huge amount of money was transferred away. As virtual asset investment is becoming more and more popular, the police remind investors to be vigilant to avoid falling into scams. From January to October 2023, the police recorded 5,017 investment fraud cases involving approximately HK$4.93 billion. Although the number and amount of online investment fraud cases in the first nine months of this year have both fallen compared to the same period last year, there were 312 cases in September this year involving approximately HK$187 million, and 380 cases in October involving approximately HK$248 million. (Wenhui.com)