Sai Kung woman scammed by online ‘lover’ loses $150,000

A Sai Kung woman, middle-aged, has become the victim of a romance scammer. Beryl, who lives in a village we won’t name so she can’t be identified, lost $150,000.

HSBC says romance scams are so common it devotes a website to warnings for the gullible. Typical messages from scammers:

• “You and I are one and the same: we both know what a broken heart feels like. I’m so lucky to have found you.”
• “I miss you. What have you been up to this past week?”
• The scammer puts time into building trust with the victim, then:
• “I am a little short of cash right now. Do you think you can help me by wiring some money to tide me over. Even a few thousand dollars would help.”

HSBC says victims lose on average $4000. Beryl’s loss was so large, because the scammer convinced her he needed the money so he could travel to see her.

HSBC claims their survey shows a whopping 80 per cent of Hong Kong people have been the target of the six most common types of fraud: romance and job scams, identity theft, official impersonation, digital payment and bogus calls. Thirty percent were targeted by romance scammers; seven per cent actually lost money.

The bank says the most vulnerable people to this kind of fraud are young, 25-39 years old, because they are more prone to sharing ID numbers, passwords and bank account details with on-line partners.

“To protect your heart and your bank account away from prying hands, be vigilant at all times and definitely don’t be sending money to people you don’t know much about. . . Remember these pivotal steps before you even think about emptying your pockets:

• Protect your details. Never give private information to people you’ve never met.
• Don’t over-share your personal details on social media. Scammers can easily piece together a story from information you share on-line then con you.
• Be on guard if excuses start pouring in. If you start to hear a boatload of excuses from your online beloved about how they can’t turn on their webcam or meet you in person, these are red flags.
• Don’t reveal anything about your finances. Once they start asking about these things alarm bells should go off.
• Don’t blindly trust information they send. Photos sent to you may be fake. Use an app to reverse image search what they send you to check it is genuine. A back story of their lives could be completely conjured, be suspicious.

HSBC says if you do suffer from a scam report it to them, and the police, immediately.

Poor Beryl. She knows she was silly and she’s embarrassed and she’ll never see her money again, a loss she can’t afford.