Financial Consultant Loses ₹14.8 Billion In Tinder Love Scam
A 55-year-old financial analyst lost HK$14 million (₹14.85 crore) in a tinder love scam, to a fraudster posing as a female investment broker in Singapore.
An Italian guy living in Hong Kong was deceived into investing in Bitcoin by his false online sweetheart, who then stole HK$14 million (about Rs. 14.85 crore) from him in five weeks.
On the dating app Tinder in Singapore in the middle of February, the 55-year-old financial consultant connected with a fraudster posing as a woman investment broker.
Over WhatsApp, the victim kept in touch with the con artist, and the two eventually fell in love. The man was persuaded to open an account on a fake trading website in order to make investments in virtual currency.
According to a source acquainted with the situation, “the victim was told that investing in digital money may yield big profits.” South China Morning Post.
In 22 transactions between March 6 and March 23, the guy was convinced to transfer HK$14.2 million into nine predetermined bank accounts, according to the authorities.
After he invested and didn’t get his money back, the man started to feel suspicious. He went to the police last month after realizing he was a victim of a fraud.
According to the Theft Ordinance, “obtaining property by deception” is a crime that is currently the subject of a police investigation and carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
“Victims can initially earn modest profits, but as they invest more money, they eventually incur substantial losses. The scam is additionally referred to as the “pig-butchering scam,” “as per the police department’s website.
A software developer revealed last month how he attempted to con a con artist by claiming to be able to create a better website for them. The con artist pretended to be a representative of HDFC bank.
The man offered to help the con artist create a better website for Rs 20,000 and said it was simple to recognize a false website when you saw one.
