Taiwanese fall victim to Hong Kong romance scam

Hong Kong, Oct. 15 (CNA) Hong Kong police recently smashed an online romance scam ring targeting victims in various Asian countries, including Taiwan.

The ring, based in a building in Hunghom, Kowloon, was suspected of racking up 360 million HK dollars in illegal gains in a year, victimizing dozens of people from Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Malaysia, Hong Kong police told a news conference on Monday.

Twenty-seven young male adults, including the main suspect, 29, and six university graduates, were arrested, alongside 41 computers and servers and 137 mobile phones seized on site, police said.

Police said the criminal group recruited university graduates who majored in digital media with fake job advertisements, encouraging them to join their cryptocurrency investment platforms created by their accomplices.

Using artificial intelligence and deep fake technologies, male ring members posed as attractive women and interacted with potential victims on social media sites, police said.

After having gained their trust and lured the victims into a fake romance relationship, they would encourage them to invest in their fake cryptocurrency business and steal their money, police added.

Victims did not realize that they had been scammed until they were unable to take back their investment money, police said.