​A Hong Kong retiree lost all of her ​nearly HK$7 million (US$891,723) ​savings in two months after falling victim to an online cryptocurrency investment scam, it was revealed on Thursday.

The 55-year-old woman realised she had been conned when she tried to borrow cash from her daughter to pay a “surety” to get back part of the money last week, an insider familiar with the case said.

She fell prey to investment fraud when a scammer befriended her on Instagram in January. Police said the victim and scammer then continued to contact each other on a messaging app.