Another tragic case involves Alan Chew, a 55-year-old Canadian citizen and design professional who had lived in Hong Kong for 30 years. Despite being aware of the prevalence of scams and believing he had taken all necessary precautions, Chew lost HK$1.3 million (US$145,100) of his life savings to online investment scammers between October 2024 and early 2025.
The scammers used sophisticated psychological manipulation over WhatsApp, persuading, cajoling, and even threatening Chew over four months until he had parted with all his money. “I didn’t think I’d fall into this kind of situation,” said Chew, who asked to use a pseudonym as he hadn’t told his family what happened. “I have no money left”.