*By Therese Tu
A local female resident lost HKD4.2 million (US$521,376) in an online scam of investing in cryptocurrency mining, TDM Radio reported today (Thursday).
The 41-year-old female met a man online in November 2021, and was persuaded by the suspect to invest 21 times in cryptocurrency mining from December 23, 2021 to February 21, 2022, for a total of HK$4.2 million.
After receiving the payment, the customer service of the mining website claimed that the deposit was under processing, and the final settlement can only be completed until February 1, 2022.
On that day the female resident requested to withdraw money from the website, however, the customer service replied again that the settlement was underway, and withdrawal is not allowed at the time being.
The local resident made another withdrawal request on February 3, while the customer service claimed that “the income exceeded the limit”, and asked the local resident to pay US$300,000 for “settling the taxes”.
Subsequently, the 41-old female has lost contact with the customer service and the male netizen.
The local resident reported the case to the judiciary police, and the case is received for further investigation.
Earlier this year, a deepfake online video post of Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng’s remarks advising people to invest in cryptocurrency was widely circulated, and the SAR government said in an announcement that CE has never made such remarks…
