Two Hong Kong women lost a combined HK$9.7 million (US$1.24 million) to crypto scammers over the past few weeks, according to local media outlets.

Hong Kong police issued a public warning after more than 80 fraud cases were reported in a single week. The total losses exceeded HK$80 million or US$10.2 million.

Woman loses US$1 million in ‘AI’ crypto scam

In the larger of the two cases, a woman lost upward of HK$7.7 million or US$1 million.

The victim was contacted on Telegram by someone posing as an investment expert. The scammer promised guaranteed high returns through what they described as “quantitative trading” and “AI algorithms” applied to crypto markets.

Persuaded by the pitch, the victim was directed to a fraudulent…