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Hong Kong police announced the arrest of 27 people in October 2024 over an alleged romance-and-cryptocurrency investment fraud. News reports attributed HK$360 million in losses to the operation—about US$46 million at the time—and described fake online identities, deepfake video calls and fraudulent trading platforms. The arrests are allegations, not proof of convictions.
How the alleged Hong Kong romance-and-crypto scam worked
Contemporary reports described a sequence that used fabricated identities to build trust, then steered targets toward fake cryptocurrency investments.
- Invented personas made first contact. Operators reportedly approached people through social media using made-up identities and AI-generated images.
- Deepfake calls reinforced the deception. When targets asked for video calls, the scammers reportedly used real-time face and voice manipulation to appear as the person behind the profile.
- Trust became an investment pitch. After building a relationship, the operators directed victims to purported cryptocurrency investments on fake trading platforms.
- Fabricated returns encouraged further deposits. Dark Reading reported that Senior Superintendent Fang Chi-kin, head of the New Territories South regional crime unit, said: “The syndicate presented fabricated profit transaction records to victims, claiming substantial returns on their investments.”
- Withdrawal attempts exposed the fraud. Dark Reading reported that victims realized they had been scammed when they tried to withdraw money and could not.
In this account, AI was one element of a broader deception: it helped make invented personas seem credible, while the fake platform and purported profits supplied the investment lure.
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How much money was allegedly stolen?
The reported case loss was HK$360 million, described in the contemporary coverage as approximately US$46 million. That is the amount attributed to the alleged operation in reporting on the police announcement, not a final loss figure established by a court. The title’s dollar shorthand refers to US dollars; the reported amount in Hong Kong currency was HK$360 million.
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Who was arrested, and where were victims located?
South China Morning Post reported on 14 October 2024 that Hong Kong police had arrested 27 people. Among them were university graduates whom police said had been recruited to set up fake trading platforms. The report said victims included people in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, India and Singapore, among other places. It did not give a complete breakdown of victims or losses by location.
The Record separately reported that police seized computers, mobile phones, suspected crime proceeds and luxury watches. That account is secondary reporting.
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Were the suspects convicted?
The reports describe arrests connected with an alleged fraud. The available case reporting does not establish later charges, convictions, sentencing or appeals, so it cannot support a claim that the suspects were convicted. An arrest is not a finding of guilt.
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How this case fits the wider regional fraud picture
UNODC warned in October 2024 that criminal groups in Southeast Asia were incorporating AI and deepfake technology into cyber fraud. A contemporaneous report on its findings put cyber-enabled fraud losses across East and Southeast Asia at an estimated US$18 billion to US$37 billion in 2023. That regional estimate is separate from the Hong Kong case: it is not the amount allegedly stolen in this operation and is not specific to deepfake romance scams.
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The Hong Kong case shows how reported romance-based trust-building, synthetic video and a fake investment platform can work together. It does not establish that all romance scams use deepfakes, or that this operation was part of the scam-compound networks discussed in broader regional coverage.
Sources: South China Morning Post, 14 October 2024; Dark Reading; The Record.
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