Fake water leak alert lures Hongkonger, 70, into HK$4 million online love scam
The force said on Wednesday that 40 per cent of the victims were aged over 60, adding that one of the cases involved the elderly man who was conned out of more than HK$3 million from his lifelong savings and was also left with an additional HK$1 million in debt.
About two months ago, the man received a WhatsApp message from someone pretending to be his neighbour and complaining that his flat had a water leak.
'The sender later claimed she had messaged the wrong person,' police revealed on their CyberDefender Facebook page.
Despite the mix-up, the two continued chatting on WhatsApp and then developed an online relationship.
The 'neighbour' later claimed that she had insider knowledge about cryptocurrency investments and shared romantic messages to gain his trust.
Among the romantic messages the fraudster used in this case were 'You know very well that I've fallen for you' and 'You have to treasure me and do what I say', according to police.
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