is parents.
Lee and two others told the Post how they fell victim to Hong Kong fraudsters. A project manager in Macau said he lost HK$3 million, and it dashed his hopes of buying a home or expanding his wife’s business. A man in Singapore who said he lost considerably less – HK$20,000 – still cannot believe he was fooled, because he considered himself a savvy investor.
The Post has previously reported about Hong Kong retail investors who lost their savings in such online market manipulation frauds during the coronavirus pandemic, as more people gripped by financial insecurity have taken to speculation in the stock market for quick money.
He recalled the Friday afternoon in April when he was told to sell everything. Instead of selling high, he was aghast when the stock prices crashed rapidly. “Now we have to cancel our plans,” he said. “Our dream was so close to coming true, but now it has slipped from our hands. I have to start again from zero.”Singapore executive Jessica Lee is still not over the trauma of the fake online love affair that led her to put all her cash savings of about HK$1.2 million into a “pump and dump” scam.
“He talked sweetly and showered me with lots of love,” Lee recalled. “We chatted about daily life matters, our retirement plans and his business.” She suffered insomnia for a long time afterwards, feeling deeply distressed and ashamed that she fell for the love ruse.Three months later, Lee discovered that the phone number used by Lee Pok was active again. However, the WhatsApp photo with the number was no longer that of a middle-aged man, but a pretty young woman.
Considering himself a savvy investor, Wong thought there was no harm in knowing more. In the group, Teacher Li made recommendations of certain stocks and asked for a commission if members made a profit from his tips. For victim Santos, in Macau, there was a postscript some time after he lost his money. A man calling himself Kevin contacted him one day and confessed that he was part of the scam and had earned a 10 per cent commission on stock sales by those tricked by the group.