The victim, Mr. Chan, shared his entire suspicion of being scammed on a YouTube channel owned by Lilian Lui Lai-hung.
The incident took place in February 2021 when Mr. Chan met a female bank manager at a bank in Yuen Long.
“Due to my lack of medical insurance and old age,” said Mr. Chan, “I mentioned it to her (referring to the bank manager), and she seemed very helpful, so I considered it.” The bank manager later called him and said, “Come and see me, I have a better solution.” Subsequently, Mr. Chan met the bank manager, who told him that due to his age, he couldn’t purchase the intended plan but could opt for a higher-interest savings plan instead. Mr. Chan stated that the manager suggested a “special fixed-term interest scheme” to him.
According to Mr. Chan, the manager advised him that due to his age, “She said… let your wife buy it instead (referring to Mr. Chan’s wife), as she is younger than you… and we followed her advice.”
Mr. Chan followed the manager’s suggestion, and his wife purchased the “special fixed-term interest scheme.” He mentioned that they signed over 40 documents in the process.
Mr. Chan then handed over HK$1.5 million to the bank, thinking that he was investing in a similar fixed-term savings insurance plan that would yield monthly interest. However, it turned out that he had actually purchased a HK$5 million financing life insurance policy, with the HK$1.5 million serving as the initial payment.
Since the policy had a coverage amount of HK$5 million, after paying the initial HK$1.5 million, Mr. Chan also borrowed HK$3.5 million from the bank to purchase the 10-year financing life insurance policy.
After purchasing the policy, Mr. Chan has to repay the bank’s loan and interest over a 10-year period, with monthly repayments ranging from slightly over HK$10,000 to HK$20,000.