Hong Kong romance scams cost $9M in a week, Malaysia drops Blockchain Week support after OnlyFans row

Hong Kong police logged 25 romance-linked fraud cases in one week, with losses totaling $9 million, including a single insurance agent who lost $3.3 million after being pushed into a fake crypto app. In Malaysia, the government withdrew support for Malaysia Blockchain Week after an after-party booking triggered a social media backlash, a reminder that high-risk payments events can run into reputational and political friction fast.

1. In Hong Kong, an insurance agent was scammed out of $3.3 million after a fake online boyfriend persuaded her to invest in a fraudulent crypto application. Police said there were 25 similar romance-linked fraud cases reported between July 24 and July 30, and the combined losses reached $9 million.
2. The mechanism is familiar enough by now: scammers meet victims on dating or messaging apps, spend months building trust, then introduce a crypto investment pitch. Victims are sent to a site that looks like a trading app, sees fake profits, keeps adding money, and only realizes what happened when withdrawals stop working.
3. Hong Kong news also included a few payment-relevant items: Hong Kong-licensed cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Exchange said its parent company received approval from JPMorgan Chase to open a client money account; and a Vietnam-linked scheme called Fun Coffee, which promised annual returns of up to 222%, has collapsed in Hong Kong, with authorities calling it a virtual currency scam.
4. In Malaysia, the government withdrew support for Malaysia Blockchain Week after an after-party featuring local DJ and actress Siew Pui Yi triggered a conservative social media backlash. Siew Pui Yi built a large following on OnlyFans, though she has not been on the platform since 2022, and event organizers cancelled the performance.
5. For operators and PSPs, the point is less the gossip and more the operational risk: fraud narratives tied to crypto, and event sponsorships that become political controversies, can both turn into banking and partner-management problems very quickly.

China also had a payment-adjacent warning sign: China Business Journal, a state-affiliated newspaper, said fraudsters were impersonating it to extort companies by demanding Bitcoin in exchange for suppressing damaging reports, using a Proton Mail address to send the threats.