Fifty Hongkongers have been swindled out of HK$2.83 million (US$363,610) in a week after being scammed into making advance payments under false promises of companionship or sex.

Police said on Wednesday that scammers, posing as attractive men or women, hunted for targets on social media platforms or dating websites, and befriended them before offering “compensated dating” or sexual services as part of the trap.

The force said fraudsters asked their targets out on dates after initiating contact.

Before any meet-up, scammers usually expressed concerns about undercover police involvement and asked victims to buy game point cards, pay with digital currency or transfer money to a designated bank account as a deposit for the service.

“After the payment is made, swindlers disappear, and the ‘handsome’ man or ‘pretty’ woman never shows up for the meeting,” police said.

In an alert posted on the force’s CyberDefender page on social media on Wednesday, police said offenders extorted victims who refused to pay the deposits by threatening to harm them or their families.

Police received 50 reports over compensated dating scams last week, involving financial losses of more than HK$2.83 million.