Hong Kong police bust fraud ring that used face-swapping tech for romance scams

Hong Kong police have arrested 27 people for allegedly carrying out romance scams using deepfake face-swapping technology that swindled victims out of $46 million.

The syndicate operated out of a 4,000-square-foot building in the residential Hung Hom neighborhood of Hong Kong, police said on Monday during a press conference. 

Among those arrested in the operation last week were six university graduates allegedly recruited to set up fake trading platforms used to lure victims into investing in cryptocurrencies, the South China Morning Post reported.

“Following initial contact with victims on social media platforms, they first sent artificially generated photos using AI technology to create attractive individuals in terms of appearance, personality, occupation, education and other aspects,” said Fang Chi-kin, the head of the New Territories South regional crime unit.  

According to the unit’s superintendent, Iu Wing-kan, deepfake technology was then used when victims requested video calls.

“This technology transformed the scammers’ appearances and voices into highly attractive females in terms of looks, attire and speech, making the victims trust them unquestioningly,” SCMP quoted him as saying.

Police seized computers, mobile phones and about $25,750 in suspected crime proceeds and luxury watches from the headquarters. Victims were located in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, India and Singapore, SCMP reported. An unnamed source told the outlet that five of the detainees have suspected ties to Sun Yee On, one of the biggest organized criminal groups — or triads — in Hong Kong and China. 

Last week, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released a report warning about technological advancements among organized crime syndicates carrying out cyber-enabled fraud in Asia, including the integration of deepfake technology. 

The agency identified more than 10 deepfake software providers selling their services on Telegram specifically to criminal groups in Southeast Asia.  

In May 2024, the Hong Kong office of the British engineering firm Arup reported it had lost $25.6 million in a deepfake scam.

The duped employee had received an email purportedly from the company’s chief financial officer with instructions to carry out a transaction. The fraudsters used deepfakes of the purported CFO and other senior management during a video conference call to trick the employee into transferring the money.