Man indicted for posing as woman online to blackmail nearly 100 men

A man in Taichung, Taiwan, has been indicted for a sophisticated online scam that targeted nearly 100 men over a six-month period. Fu Bo-cheng, 29, allegedly used stolen photographs of young women to create a convincing "sweetheart goddess" persona on anonymous dating platforms and LINE.

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Do you want to play something more exciting?

Fu initiated contact with unsuspecting men, building trust through affectionate conversations and flirtatious chat. He then enticed them to engage in "one-way video calls," instructing them to perform explicit acts while he secretly recorded their naked images. The prosecution alleges that Fu used these recordings to blackmail his victims.

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If you don't pay, I'll send the nude photos to your family and friends.

Following the recording, Fu would demand that the victim add him on Instagram and provide their friends list. He then threatened to send the compromising photos to the victim's family and friends if they did not pay a ransom ranging from $10,000 to $60,000 TWD (approximately $300 to $1,800 USD). Many victims complied out of fear of reputational damage and privacy exposure, enabling Fu to accumulate nearly $1 million TWD (approximately $30,000 USD) in illegal profits.

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Fu Bo-cheng allegedly used stolen photos of young women to create a 'sweetheart goddess' persona and deceive others into taking nude photos, which he then used for blackmail.

Prosecutors initiated the investigation after suspecting a pattern in a reported privacy violation and extortion case. Fu employed elaborate measures to evade detection, including using multiple burner phones, work phones, and frequently changing his location. Despite these efforts, a specialized police task force utilized advanced technological and big data analysis to identify and apprehend Fu at his Taichung residence in late March. He remains in custody as the case proceeds.

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Fu Bo-cheng, who was arrested, actually said, 'Later, many people copied me,' which made the investigators shake their heads.