Macau Woman Cheated of MOP3.05 Million in Pig-Butchering Scam

A woman from Macau fell prey to an investment scam in December last year. She reportedly invested MOP3.05 million in an online trading platform.

At the end of last year, the woman met a man on WeChat who claimed to be a soldier stationed in Hong Kong. By February, the man advised her to invest in gold, saying she could earn a lot of returns by that way.

Trusting the man’s recommendation, the victim downloaded a trading application. The man then provided a Hong Kong bank account and a mainland Chinese bank account for the victim to transfer money as deposit.

To invest in gold, the woman transferred 850,000 RMB and 2.06 million HKD to these accounts.

By early April, the woman's investment account made a profit of 20,000 RMB, so she wanted to withdraw. However, the platform's customer service team asked her to pay the RMB 1.96 million “gold transaction tax” first.

Confused by the situation, the victim remained unaware of the deceit until her family brought it to her attention. Upon realizing she had been cheated, she promptly reported the case to law enforcement.

The authorities are investigating the case.

BrokersView reminds you to be very careful about investment advice offered by strangers or online friends. The victim in this case was subjected to a typical pig-butchering scam, where the scammer takes advantage of the victim's trust and induces her to participate in a fake investment. Victims of this scam not only suffer financial losses, but also psychological stress.

To ensure that a trading platform or investment opportunity is legitimate and trustworthy, it is essential to verify its financial regulatory license. Investing through an unregulated platform significantly increases the risk of losing funds.