The scheme began last year when a friend introduced a Hong Kong insurance professional in her 50s to a woman who said she wanted to discuss insurance business. That contact led to a man who called himself “Uncle” and described himself as working in the auto trade.Conversation moved to WhatsApp, where a romantic relationship developed. Once trust was established, “Uncle” positioned himself as an experienced investor and got her to install a cryptocurrency trading app he pointed her to. The police statement also notes that the relationship wasn’t confined to chat. The two met in person, in different locations around Hong Kong.
Over roughly six months, she handed HK$4 million (about $510,000) in cash directly to accomplices, and separately wired HK$22 million, or $2.8 million, to bank accounts registered under other people’s names. Her account eventually showed apparent returns above 800 percent. When she tried to withdraw the money, the request was denied, and “Uncle” and his associates cut off contact. By the time it was over, according to a statement Hong Kong Police posted on its “CyberDefender” page, she had lost more than HK$26 million (roughly $3.3 million). A similar trust-first pattern played out in a HK$5.2 million Hong Kong scam that began inside a Facebook furniture-trading group, where an unrelated, low-stakes conversation was the entry point before the investment pitch began.
How the scheme unfolded
- Last year: introduced via a friend’s insurance contact to a woman, then to “Uncle”
- Relationship develops over WhatsApp; “Uncle” claims investing expertise
- Multiple in-person meetings, in different Hong Kong locations
- Victim installs the trading app “Uncle” recommends
- Over ~6 months: HK$4M in cash to accomplices, HK$22M wired to third-party accounts
- App shows apparent returns above 800%
- Withdrawal request denied; “Uncle” and associates disappear
Uncle’s HK$26 million scheme continued despite in-person meetings
The case was the largest of 25 romance-investment-fraud reports Hong Kong Police logged in a single week, July 24–30, with combined losses across those cases reaching close to HK$70 million, about $8.9 million.
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| This case (single victim) | ~HK$26M / $3.3M |
| All 25 cases, week of July 24–30 | ~HK$70M / $8.9M |
| Share of weekly total | More than a third |
According to the police statement, the scheme included the introduction, the app, the cash and wire transfers, and the blocked withdrawal. It does not name the fake app, and does not say whether “Uncle” or his accomplices have been identified or arrested.
Hong Kong Police’s own public guidance on romance scams tells people to insist on meeting a romantic contact in person as a protective measure. In this case, “Uncle” and his victim met face to face, the scenario that advice is meant to address.
What Hong Kong Police’s in-person meeting advice didn’t cover in this case
In this case, meeting in person did not prevent the losses described in the police statement. It did not stop “Uncle” from steering her toward an unnamed trading app, from six months of cash handoffs and wire transfers to accounts under other people’s names, or from the eventual 800%-return figures followed by a blocked withdrawal.
The case involved a man met through a friend’s insurance contact who shifted from a romantic relationship to managing her crypto investments, a claimed auto-industry background unrelated to the investment platform he promoted, and a trading app that showed triple-digit gains before the withdrawal request was denied. This case fits a broader escalation pattern Hong Kong Police have flagged elsewhere too, including a HK$6.6 million multi-stage fraud that cost a retiree three separate rounds of losses before the scheme was fully disclosed.
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