Hong Kong woman swindles landlords out of HK$4.3m in crypto investment scam

67-year-old posed as a prospective tenant, paying rent upfront to gain landlords’ trust, before tricking them into a bogus scheme

Hong Kong police have arrested a 67-year-old woman who posed as a prospective tenant to swindle two property owners out of HK$4.3 million (US$510,008) in a virtual currency investment scam.

Investigators from the Western district crime squad said on Wednesday that the suspect had contacted two victims — who were separately advertising a flat and a parking space for rent — and offered to pay in advance to win their trust.

She then persuaded them to join a supposed high-return investment scheme.

To draw the victims in further, she gave them free mobile phones preloaded with a cryptocurrency investment app.

Although the app itself was legitimate, police said it had been preset with fraudulent links that secretly handed control of the victims’ e-wallets to the scam syndicate.

Once the victims deposited funds, the money was siphoned away.