- An Italian financial Consultant’s search for love ended with losing over Rs 14 crore.
- The con artist pretended to be a female investment broker in Singapore.
- The case has been labelled “obtaining property by deception.”
It’s not the first time we are hearing about someone getting conned via someone through the internet. However, what’s surprising here is that an Italian financial consultant lost more than HK$14 million (over Rs 14 crore) after being duped by his fraudulent internet lover, who he found via the popular dating app Tinder. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the victim, who is 55 years old and resides in the Western District of Hong Kong, was matched on Tinder with a con artist in mid-February who pretended to be a female investment broker in Singapore.
Tinder love scam: Here’s what happened
After they were matched, they kept in touch through WhatsApp and started dating online. The victim was then convinced to set up an account on a fake trading website and invest digital money there. From March 6th to March 23rd, he was persuaded to move HK$14.2 million into nine different bank accounts in 22 separate transactions, the police said.
The victim found it was a scam when he couldn’t get his money and “profits” back. Then, at the end of last month, he called the police for help. The report mentioned that the case had been labelled “obtaining property by deception,” which is a crime that can lead to up to 10 years in prison under the Theft Ordinance.
Love scams on the rise: how to stay safe
Police say that these fake investment websites or apps showed rising prices and returns for cryptocurrencies or stocks, but the information was fake and controlled by criminals. The report cited sources that said the positive returns on these investment accounts were meant to get people to invest more money.
Scammers online usually pretend to be merchants or professionals in fields like banking, engineering or the military. They try to charm their victims before asking them for money for various reasons.
If you find someone online with whom you have a match, and you both feel that you are a great pairing, here’s what you have to do:
- Do research on the individual’s photograph and profile.
- Ask questions. If someone seems too good to be true, there’s a strong chance they aren’t who they say they are.
- Be wary if you are requested sensitive financial information or images that are unsuitable. It is not a good idea to send money to somebody you have only interacted with virtually and not in person.
- Be wary of the individual if they repeatedly miss opportunities to meet and always provide an explanation for their absence.
