Hong Kong woman, 81, loses HK$5 million to romance scammer posing as PLA officer

An 81-year-old woman in Hong Kong has lost more than HK$5 million after falling victim to an elaborate online romance scam involving a fraudster who posed as a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer from mainland China.

In a post on its CyberDefender social media page on Monday, police said the woman received a WhatsApp message from a man who claimed to be a PLA officer and invited her to visit a military camp.

They quickly built an online romantic relationship through frequent affectionate messages.

The scammer later said he wanted to leave the military and start a business, asking the woman to provide financial support.

She followed his instructions and made multiple deposits into a designated bank account.

The deception escalated when another individual, posing as the scammer’s “superior”, contacted the woman and informed her that the man had died, with a claim that the deceased had left behind an inheritance of over HK$9 million for her.

But she would need to pay various fees to claim it.

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