A 66-year-old retiree in Hong Kong lost about HK$6.6 million (roughly US$840,000) after becoming the target of three linked cryptocurrency scams, the Hong Kong Police Force’s CyberDefender unit said in a March 20 Facebook post.
According to CyberDefender, the victim was first contacted via WhatsApp in September 2025 by someone posing as a “virtual currency investment expert.” The fraudster promised steady returns and told the retiree to transfer funds and deposit cryptocurrency into a wallet controlled by the scammer. After sending roughly $180,000, the contact disappeared and the victim filed a police report.
Seeking help online, the retiree was later approached by a second person who said they could recover the lost assets. That individual demanded a $75,000 “security deposit”; after the payment the supposed recovery agent also vanished.
In January a third fraudster contacted the retiree, offering to retrieve the earlier losses if the victim purchased about $585,000 in cryptocurrency and sent it to an address provided by the sender. The retiree complied, and the third scammer disappeared as well. CyberDefender said the three incidents occurred over roughly six months, leaving a total loss of about $840,000.
CyberDefender warned that fraudsters often recycle the same victims across successive schemes, moving from “guaranteed profit” pitches to fake recovery services. The unit urged people to be skeptical of unsolicited outreach from self-styled investment professionals and to treat promises of “guaranteed returns” or “inside information” as red flags.
The case comes amid a broader rise in crypto-related fraud. Security firm Hacken estimates Web3 platforms lost about $3.95 billion in 2025, with state-linked hackers and weak private-key security among the main causes. Authorities worldwide have reported increased phishing and investment scams, including fake tokens and multi-jurisdiction investigations and asset forfeiture tied to crypto investment fraud.
CyberDefender’s post highlights how social engineering and repeated targeting can compound losses and underscores the importance of caution when responding to unsolicited investment offers or so-called recovery services in the crypto space.
