HK reports at least 80 online romance scams over the past four weeks

The police received reports of more than 80 online romance scams over the past four weeks, with victims losing over 49 million dollars in total.

Among the recent cases, a 70-year-old woman fell in love with a scammer on Facebook who claimed to be the CEO of a listed company.

After gaining her trust, the fraudster lured her into a fake gold investment scheme.

To fund the "investment", the victim made 73 bank transfers totalling over 5.6 million dollars into a designated account, and handed over 450,000 dollars in cash to another accomplice.

She only realised she had been conned after the scammers cut off all contact, by which time she had lost over 6 million dollars.

The police urged the public to remain vigilant and stay away from unrealistic investment opportunities.