Police in China have busted a fraud ring that had duped an undisclosed number of male victims out of a combined 300,000 yuan (US$42,000) by scamming each individual out of a small amount of money.
Police in Shanghai arrested 20 members of the network from seven cities across the country.
The gang had successfully flown under the radar because each victim typically lost a few hundred yuan (tens of US dollars), meaning they were less likely to report the crime to the police, according to The Paper.
The racketeers posed as women seeking relationships with men, then manipulated them into giving them money to fund their fake lifestyles.
Posing as women, the gang targeted victims for small amounts each time in hope the men would write off the loss. Photo: The Paper
The authorities were tipped off in September by a man, surnamed Liang, who said he lost 1,000 yuan (US$140) to a “woman” identifying herself as Xiaoling.
Liang said he got to know Xiaoling through a dating website and soon fell in love with her because she gave him the impression of being a “sweet younger sister”.
They began a romantic online relationship and Liang sent her money for meals, snacks, clothes and taxi rides. He said he would give her money without hesitation.
But when Liang proposed to have a visual chat with Xiaoling, she always refused, giving all kinds of excuses. The couple had never met in person.
To confirm his suspicions, Liang asked Xiaoling some questions to verify her identity, which resulted in “her” blocking him.
According to police, Xiaoling is in fact a man from a fraud group that fabricated normal-looking links to send to their victims, with payments being transferred to the fraudsters’ bank accounts.
“Their modus operandi is cheating many people out of small sums of money. Because each victim usually only lost a few dozen or hundreds of yuan, they thought it would be too troublesome to report the crime to the police. They told themselves they were just unlucky,” an officer was quoted as saying.
Romance scam cases often trend on mainland social media.
Police tracked down the nationwide gang after a man who lost a small amount made a report. Photo: The Paper
Earlier this year, a man in Shanghai was cheated out of 700,000 yuan (US$98,000) by a 39-year-old single mother posing as a “young and rich girl” in her 20s.
To convince the man that she was wealthy, the woman drove rented luxury cars to pick him up and made up certificates of bank deposits.
Last month, police in southern China’s Hunan province investigated a case in which a 65-year-old man was conned out of 100,000 yuan in a catfish scheme. He fell in love with a jobless man pretending to be a young female university student.
News Related-
‘I lost everything’: down-on-his-luck man in China conned out of US$278,000 by ‘magnetic master’ who ordered bizarre food rituals to boost fortunes
-
‘Bring it to me’: woman in China barks at ride-hail driver to travel 50km to return phone she left in car for free, triggers online backlash
-
Climate change: water scarcity is fuelling new crises across Asia
-
Going nuclear: how Asia is leading the zero-emission power push
-
‘Light in his eyes’: excited China boy, 7, makes meagre exam progress, rewarded with chicken dinner by mother who is praised for parenting style
-
Melissa Barrera, Susan Sarandon face backlash for comments about Middle East Crisis
-
We review 5 of the biggest pieces of gaming tech on sale this Black Friday
-
'Maestro' chronicles the brilliant Bernstein — and his disorderly conduct
-
'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off'—and levels up
-
‘Fines are king’: county in China imposes ‘uncivilised behaviour’ penalty for squatting while eating and not making beds
-
Making the Most Out of Friendsgiving
-
'Leo' is an animated lizard with an SNL sensibility — and the voice of Adam Sandler
-
Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse takes on the 'wild mess' of Thanksgiving
-
A woman reported her son missing in 1995, but it took years to learn his fate