HK man loses HK$1.8 million to ‘girlfriend’ he met on WeChat

A Hong Kong man lost HK$1.8 million (US$229,349) on an investment suggested by a woman he met on the WeChat messaging platform.

In April, Kent, aged about 40, was attracted by the WeChat profile photograph of a woman named Angel. She claimed to be a 28-year-old financial adviser who had graduated from Hong Kong University. Kent said he was told by Angel that she was single, the Apple Daily reported. 

They met up in person a week later. Angel suggested that Kent, who claimed to have assets worth HK$50 million (US$6.37 million), should invest in gold. Kent opened an investment account managed by Angel with HK$1 million.

After Kent made an initial profit of HK$100,000, Angel persuaded him to boost his portfolio to HK$6 million and agreed to be his girlfriend. She claimed that he could expect a return of at least HK$2 million, while the maximum loss he might face would be HK$800,000. Kent followed her advice.

The next day, he found that his account had experienced 300 transactions which resulted in losses of HK$2 million. Kent liquidated his investment and recorded an actual loss of HK$1.8 million.

When he hired a private detective to investigate Angel, he found that her qualifications and address were fake, and that she already had a boyfriend, whom she was living with.

When Angel asked Kent to invest another HK$4 million, Kent refused and accused her of lying to him about her background and qualifications. Angel admitted to being dishonest about their relationship, but claimed never to have lied to him about investments.

When Kent sought compensation from Angel, she threatened to expose his personal information and their chat history online. He reported the case to the police.