Crypto scammers drain $1.24M from two victims in Hong Kong

Two Hong Kong women lost a combined HK$9.7 million (about US$1.24 million) to crypto scams, highlighting rising fraud risks in the sector. The larger case saw one victim transfer USDT and Ethereum in 17 transactions totaling roughly HK$7.7 million (US$1.0M) to a fake “AI-driven trading” platform; the other lost more than HK$2 million (US$256k) in a romance scam after cash-to-USDT exchanges. Hong Kong police issued a public warning after over 80 fraud cases in a week, with aggregate losses exceeding HK$80 million (US$10.2M). The incidents erode investor confidence, increase reputational risk for crypto, and may spur stricter enforcement or investor-protection measures.