A man surnamed Wang, from Zibo in northern China, thought he had finally found love when he met a woman on a gaming app.
Her name was Sheng. She had a sweet voice, pretty photos, and messages full of affection. For months, they had romantic conversations and an online relationship. At one point, the man sent her sums such as 1.314 or 520 yuan, figures that in Chinese mean “a lifetime” and “I love you”.
Later, Sheng came up with excuses to get more money. She claimed to need it for rent or medicine. Wang, who was already emotionally involved, transferred money to her without hesitation. In total, he lost more than 4.000 yuan, about 550 dollars.
But everything fell apart during a video call. Unlike in the previous audio recordings, Sheng’s voice sounded hoarse and unrecognizable. Wang asked what was wrong. She hung up and blocked him on every platform.
He then learned that he had been scammed.
The police then uncovered a sophisticated operation behind the scam, with a clear division of labor, and arrested 14 members in total. Each had a specific role, using voice changers and stolen photos of different women to create a convincing image of a “girlfriend”.
The group, led by an individual surnamed Lv, specifically targeted single and lonely men who wanted to form relationships online.