Two Major Investment Scams in Hong Kong in 2025! Nearly 24 Million Lost

Major investment fraud incidents have recently occurred in Hong Kong, with two cases resulting in a total loss of nearly 24 million HKD.

One business person was deceived by a fake stock investment platform, losing over 19 million HKD within four months, setting a record for the largest single online fraud case this year.

Fake Stock App Scams Corporate Executive Out of Life Savings

The victim in this case is a female corporate director in her fifties. In November last year, after seeing a stock investment advertisement on Facebook boasting “600% excess returns,” she contacted a scammer claiming to be an “investment advisor” through a messaging app.

The scammer used professional jargon to persuade her to download and operate an application named “Cl Exp”. 

From late December last year to February this year, the victim made 22 transfers, sending all her personal savings, company funds, and money borrowed from relatives and friends to a bank account controlled by the fraud syndicate.

It was not until her bank proactively sent an “unusual transfer alert message” that she realized she had been scammed and reported the case. Police investigation revealed that the application was a completely fictitious investment platform.

Even Professionals Are Not Immune! Female Lawyer Loses 4.7 Million by Investing in a Shell Company

The victim in another case is a practicing lawyer who, in 2017, met a local man claiming to be the “founder of FreeMind Fund”.

The scammer cultivated a long-term relationship through WeChat, inducing the victim to transfer 4.7 million HKD into two local accounts. Years later, the victim discovered that the fund company was not legally registered, and the scammer had completely disappeared.

Three Anti-Fraud Rules to Protect Your Assets

1. Verify Platform Legitimacy: Before investing, be sure to check the company’s registration status through the “Integrated Companies Registry Information System (ICRIS)” and confirm whether the application is certified by an official app store. 
2. Debunk the Myth of High Returns: According to statistics from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the average annual return rate for legitimate investment products in 2024 is about 4-8%. Any claims of “guaranteed profits” or “monthly returns exceeding 15%” are highly unusual. 
3. Utilize Anti-Scam Tools: The Hong Kong Police Force’s “Scameter” search engine and the “Scameter+” mobile app can instantly analyze the risk level of suspicious accounts, URLs, and phone numbers. After inputting the information, the system will provide warnings in three colors: red (high risk), orange (potential risk), and yellow (caution needed).

*The cases in this article are based on public information from the Hong Kong Police Force. Cashback Island reminds you: Always verify the legitimacy of any investment scheme claiming “low risk, high return” through multiple channels.