Kitten trick costs woman $770,000 in crypto scam – Reuters

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HONG KONG: A Hong Kong woman trying to adopt a kitten online has lost more than $770,000 in a crypto ruse, police said, as figures obtained on Friday showed a sharp rise in scams in the city involving digital currencies.

China’s financial hub encourages investment in virtual assets to bolster its fintech credentials, but the anonymous nature of cryptocurrency and lack of regulation make it popular with fraudsters.

Nearly 1,900 scams involving cryptocurrencies were reported to Hong Kong police in the first 10 months of last year, a significant increase from 494 for all of 2020, police said.

Losses from these scams also skyrocketed to HK$1.28 billion from HK$114 million in 2020.

In a recent case, a 58-year-old woman was the victim of an elaborate scam that began with an online acquaintance promising a kitten as a gift, police say. The woman later learned that the kitten had died while being transported from overseas to Hong Kong and that she was entitled to insurance compensation.

But she was also told she had to pay an “administrative fee” to unlock the insurance funds, prompting her to make 40 crypto payments with a collective value of $773,000.

No arrests have yet been made, police said.

Posted in Dawn, February 11, 2023

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