“'The 'romance scammers' cashing in on lockdown loneliness'”
Lockdown isolation has been a boon for the con artists and catfishers targeting lonely Hong Kong women.
「愛情騙子」鎖定封城寂寞芳心趁機賺進大把金錢
封城隔離對於詐騙犯及以欺騙目的在社交網站上設置虛假個人資料的人來說是個恩賜，他們鎖定寂寞的香港女子。
When Yvonne left the bank in Hong Kong, she couldn't stop smiling. She was genuinely happy to be giving a helping hand to her British boyfriend.
當Yvonne離開位於香港的銀行時，她止不住笑容。她對於可以幫助她那遠在英國的男友而真心感到快樂。
She hadn’t yet met him, but after a month of intense emailing and a few romantic calls, the boyfriend, who said he was the operation manager on a South American oil drill, had promised to fly over to meet Yvonne in person. However, before he did, he said he needed money for essential rig parts. She happily transferred HK$40,000 (US$5,160, £3,900).
她們素未謀面，但經過一個月熱烈電子郵件往來再加上幾通浪漫電話，她那個自稱在南美鑽油井擔任營運經理的男朋友答應Yvonne要飛過來跟她見面。然而，在他飛過來之前，他說他因為必要的鑽油井零件急需要用錢，於是Yvonne就開心地匯了4萬港幣給她男朋友（大約台幣14萬6千元。）
But, soon after, the ‘boyfriend’ asked for another transfer. Yvonne, a 55-year-old hospitality worker, who requested to withhold her surname for privacy, realized that her online date was nothing more than a con artist. “He told me that his daughter had an accident and needed to raise money for surgery. That’s way too dramatic, and I finally woke up!”
但很快地，這個「男友」又要求Yvonne再匯一次錢。Yvonne是一個55歲的飯店員工，她為了隱私要求不要刊登她的姓氏，而她也了解到她這個所謂的網路男友僅僅是一個詐騙高手。「他告訴我他的女兒出了車禍，而需要募款才能手術。這太戲劇化了，於是我終於清醒。」
Yvonne is hardly alone in falling prey to online romance scams in Hong Kong. According to data from the Hong Kong police, 681 people in the territory were duped out of their savings between January and September this year. It’s more than a 50% jump from last year's figures.
香港網路愛情詐騙案件受害者中，Yvonne並非少數。根據根據香港警方的資料統計，在今年的一月到九月間，香港共有681個民眾遭受金錢詐騙。比起去年數據，今年案件上升超過50%。