Crypto scam falsely linking Hong Kong’s richest billionaire Li Ka Shing sparks police probe

Hong Kong’s richest billionaire Li Ka Shing in 2018. Photo by Reuters

The fabricated article, dated April 17, alleged that Li had disclosed in a TVB interview that he made "millions from cryptocurrency auto-trading."

However, no such interview appeared in TVB’s news archives that day, and SCMP confirmed it had not published any related content.

The fake report was published on a website mimicking the SCMP’s design, misleading readers into believing it was an official article, the Hong Kong-based media outlet said.

TVB said it had also filed a report with police and urged the public to verify information from unfamiliar sources.

Police confirmed the case has been referred to the cybersecurity and technology crime bureau. No arrests have been made.

"In response to the relevant illegal acts, police have requested the internet service platform to follow up and remove the fake web pages," a police spokesman said.

"Police urge the public to be vigilant and not to log into any suspicious websites or provide personal information to websites of unknown origin."