DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Economy & Trade

Taiwanese man nearly loses savings to influencer-fronted e-cigarette investment scam

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • A 38-year-old man in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, nearly lost NT$300,000 (US$9,200) after falling victim to a romance and investment scam.
  • The scammer, posing as a popular female influencer on Facebook, lured the victim with promises of "e-cigarette cash flow" investment opportunities.
  • Police intervened at a bank when a teller noticed suspicious activity, preventing the man from transferring the funds and saving his savings.

A man in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, narrowly avoided losing his life savings of NT$300,000 (approximately US$9,200) due to a sophisticated online scam that combined romance and investment fraud.

The victim, a 38-year-old man identified by the surname Chiu, became acquainted with a female netizen on Facebook who boasted thousands of followers. The scammer engaged in daily communication, building trust before introducing a fraudulent investment scheme involving "e-cigarette cash flow," promising monthly returns.

Investment in e-cigarettes, receive cash flow monthly.

— Scammer's lureThe fraudulent investment pitch used by the scammer.

Chiu, lowering his guard due to the influencer's apparent popularity, proceeded to a bank on August 7 to transfer the substantial sum. Fortunately, a bank teller's routine inquiry about the transaction detected suspicious elements. The teller immediately alerted the police.

The police immediately rushed to the scene. Chiu initially still believed that the other party would not deceive people.

— Article textDescribing the victim's initial disbelief.

Officers from the Nanzi Precinct responded swiftly. Initially, Chiu remained convinced that his online contact was not a scammer. However, the police effectively countered his disbelief by presenting data and case studies from the National Police Agency's "Anti-Fraud Dashboard." They patiently dismantled the "fake dating, fake investment" tactics, highlighting how high follower counts and attractive photos can be easily fabricated.

After reviewing the alarming evidence, Chiu realized he had been deceived and abandoned the transfer, successfully protecting his hard-earned money. The Nanzi Precinct urged the public to be wary of online investments promising guaranteed profits, especially those promoted by popular accounts, and to always verify suspicious situations by "listening, hanging up, and verifying" before calling the 165 anti-fraud hotline.

After seeing the shocking cases, he suddenly woke up, realized he had been deceived, and gave up the transfer on the spot, successfully saving his hard-earned money.

— Article textDetailing the victim's realization and the outcome.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog