A 16-year-old boy in Hong Kong fell victim to an elaborate online dating scam, losing more than HK$110,000 after being tricked into purchasing gift cards.
The scam began when the teenager met a woman claiming to be “beautiful” on social media platform Xiaohongshu. After moving their conversation to WhatsApp, the scammer offered intimate encounters and requested deposit payments in the form of gift cards.
Unaware of the fraudulent scheme, the student purchased 19 iTunes gift cards and 12 Gash prepaid cards, totaling HK$110,000, and shared all serial numbers with the scammer via WhatsApp. The fraud was uncovered only when the scammer demanded additional “security deposits,” prompting the teenager to report the incident to the police.
Authorities have urged the public to exercise caution in online relationships and warned against sharing gift card details. Police also noted that victims may be able to recover some funds through Apple’s stop-payment process for iTunes gift cards.
How to report gift card scams:
- Visit Apple’s official support page: https://getsupport.apple.com/products
- Select “Apps & Services”
- Choose “iTunes Store”
- Click “Gift Cards & Codes”
- Select “Gift Card Scams”
- Click “Continue”
- Choose “Contact” and select either “Phone Call” or “Chat” to initiate stop-payment
