The Hsinchu District Court recently sentenced a money mule to five years in prison after investment scammers defrauded a doctor of NT$72 million (US$2.3 million).
The scammers circulated adverts online promoting a financial investment platform that claimed to generate large profits from stock trading, and the Hsinchu County doctor signed up after a presentation by a fake financial advisor, investigators found.
The doctor handed cash over to money mules eight times from September 2024 to the end of that year, investigators found.
Photo: Tsai Chang-sheng, Taipei Times
Over the period, the doctor borrowed money from his relatives and staff at his clinic, and put up real estate as collateral for high-interest loans with unlicensed lending businesses, the court filing said.
The doctor's daughter eventually realized what was happening and reported the case to the police, the filing said.
Police caught a money mule surnamed Sun (孫) who was meeting the doctor for a drop-off in December 2024, it said.
Sun was sentenced to five years in prison for fraud.
"Sun and the ring members ruined the doctor's finances ... [and he] had no way of getting his money back,” the court filing said.
The case soured the doctor’s relationship with his relatives and staff, and took a heavy emotional toll on him, the filing said.
"Many people believe they have a high education and are smart enough to not fall for financial scams, but the criminals manipulate the victims ... giving them false hope with the promise of a big turnaround and hefty profits just around the corner,” Hsinchu police officials said.
They “build up confidence in the victims, so that they do not listen to their family and friends, and instead sink deeper into the trap," the officials said.
When trying to talk a victim out of a scam, it is key not to blame or lecture them, but to provide them with an exit strategy, the officials said.
Family and friends should offer warmth and support, share their concerns and call the police anti-fraud hotline, they said.
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