Investment scams targeting the elderly in Hong Kong have increased by 17% in the first quarter of 2026, despite an overall drop in scam cases. Police warn that retirees with better financial knowledge and investment experience are becoming more vulnerable targets, losing an average of HK$850,000. This trend has contributed to an 18.6% rise in total scam losses during the period.

Investment scams targeting Hong Kong’s elderly rose by 17 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 against a year ago, despite an overall decline in the number of cases, with police warning that better-educated retirees with more investment experience were more vulnerable to fraudsters. Superintendent Theodora Lee Wai-see of the force’s commercial crime bureau said elderly victims’ losses contributed to the 18.6 per cent rise in total losses incurred from scams between January and March compared...