A 66-year-old retiree in Hong Kong lost HKD 6.6 million (approximately USD 840,000) in a series of three crypto investment scams after repeatedly trusting self-proclaimed “crypto experts” who contacted him via WhatsApp, according to Hong Kong police’s CyberDefender unit.
In a Facebook post on March 20, police said the victim was first approached by a scammer in September 2025 through a strange message, claiming to be a “crypto investment expert” and promising stable profits if the victim followed their advice. The retiree transferred USD 180,000 and deposited crypto into a wallet controlled by the scammer, but the scammer disappeared immediately afterward, prompting the victim to report to the police.
The case shows that scammers can “reuse” the same victim multiple times, starting with promises of “guaranteed profits” and escalating to offers to help recover stolen funds.
“Life has no second chance; but scams can have a third,” CyberDefender warned, emphasizing that genuine experts do not rely on random outreach, and phrases like “guaranteed profits” or “insider information” are typical red flags.
The retiree then continued searching online for another “crypto expert,” who promised to help recover the lost money but demanded a USD 75,000 security deposit. When the victim transferred the money, the scammer immediately disappeared.
In January, a third “expert” messaged via WhatsApp, proposing to recover both losses if the victim bought USD 585,000 worth of crypto and sent it to a specified address. When the victim complied, this scammer also vanished, bringing the total loss over six months to about USD 840,000.
This incident occurs amid rising Web3-related crimes. In 2025, Web3 platforms suffered approximately USD 3.95 billion in damages, mainly due to hackers linked to state actors and weak security, according to security firm Hacken.
Global authorities also warn of a new wave of investment scams and phishing, from the FBI’s alert on fake tokens on Tron, to investigations into GainBitcoin in India, and efforts in the US to seize USD 3.4 million in Tether related to a multi-state investment scam.
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