Hong Kong Police Dismantle Deepfake Romance Scam, Recover $46 Million in Fake Cryptocurrency Investments

Hong Kong police have successfully dismantled a deepfake romance scam that defrauded men out of $46 million through fake cryptocurrency investments.

According to local reports, law enforcement in Hong Kong cracked down on a multinational crypto romance scam. The scam targeted victims from Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China, and other regions. It was orchestrated by a fraud syndicate utilizing advanced deepfake technology.

Police arrested 27 individuals, including university graduates and suspected members of the Sun Yee On triad. These individuals were instrumental in running the scheme and setting up fake trading platforms that tricked victims into investing in bogus cryptocurrency investments.

Understanding Romance Scams

Romance scams, sometimes referred to as pig butchering scams, involve scammers posing as love interests to gain someone’s trust. They ultimately convince their victims to invest in fake cryptocurrency investments promising lucrative returns, only to disappear with the money.

The Inner Workings of the Scam

The syndicate employed AI-generated photos of attractive women to initiate online romantic relationships with unsuspecting men. Victims were later persuaded to invest in what they believed to be legitimate cryptocurrency platforms, only to find out later that they could not withdraw any funds.

Senior Superintendent Fang Chi-kin, who heads the New Territories South regional crime unit, stated that the syndicate’s victims were deceived even during video calls. Deepfake technology was used to replace the scammers’ appearances and voices with those of attractive women.

“They even discussed future plans with the victims, creating a false sense of happiness to encourage them to continue investing,” Fang added.

Victims were persuaded into making investments in cryptocurrency via the fake trading platforms and were even shown fake transaction records that claimed to show profits on their investments.

The fraudsters divided their operations into various roles, including scam operations, technical support, and accounting. Recruits, often university graduates, were hired to manage English-speaking or Mandarin-speaking victims and were given training manuals outlining how to build trust with victims, particularly in the area of investment.

Per the report, each fraudster involved in the syndicate could earn tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars per month, with some earning over HK$100,000. The police are continuing investigations and have not ruled out further arrests.

The scammers had been operating since October 2023 and managed to defraud victims out of HK$360 million (roughly $46 million).

Romance Scams on the Rise

Cryptocurrency scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated with their techniques, and romance scams are just one of their tactics. The rise of AI is contributing to the challenge, helping scammers pull off more convincing schemes.

Over the years, agencies have warned of the rise in romance scams, particularly those involving cryptocurrency.

A study led by University of Texas finance professor John Griffin revealed that romance scams caused over $75 billion in losses from January 2020 to February 2024, with many of the scammers operating out of Southeast Asia.

In a recent case, a U.S. citizen filed a lawsuit after losing $2.1 million in Bitcoin to one of these pig butchering scams run by a crime syndicate in the region.

Meanwhile, in April, the Virtual Currency Unit within the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office uncovered a similar scheme targeting victims across the U.S.

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