A Taichung-based criminal operation was allegedly defrauding Chinese living outside China by co-opting online profiles of attractive people, authorities said after arrests were made at a property in Daya District (大雅) over alleged telecom fraud.
A man surnamed Hsiao (蕭), who allegedly headed the operation, and three others have been accused of running an operation targeting single Chinese via romance and investment scams, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau said in a statement last month.
The four suspects have been questioned and are in pre-trial detention on charges of engaging in telecom scams, aggravated fraud and money laundering, the bureau said.
Photo: Taipei Times
In October last year, bureau personnel, prosecutors and Taichung police raided the Daya property, seizing computers, 65 mobile phones, three routers and two signal boosters, it said.
Hsiao allegedly rented the property, set up the telecom facilities and paid the other three to conduct operations, which began in May last year, the statement said.
They targeted Chinese who were single and residing outside of China, as well as people in China, by co-opting online profiles of attractive young men and women to entice people into fraud traps, it said.
The four suspects used information from the profiles and artificial intelligence (AI) to create fake memberships on dating sites, including Tinder, WeChat and TanTan, the bureau said.
The fake profiles were populated with AI-generated images to create the illusion of a genuine account, including images at airports and tourist destinations to portray a rich lifestyle, it said.
Hsiao compiled a booklet on how to conduct romance scams and defraud money via investment schemes for the other suspects, it said, adding that the information in it covered every stage of the operations and responses for possible scenarios that would arise in conversation with their targets, as well as how to deal with police officers.
“The suspects’ worked gradually to cultivate romantic engagements to manipulate the emotions of their targets before proposing an investment plan promising property, big profits and a life together,” it said.
However, the fraudulent investment schemes were controlled by Hsiao, who would make it look like small, initial investments were generating good returns, a tactic to draw the target in further, it said.
That would prompt the target to invest greater amounts before contact was cut, the bureau said.
AI-generated content based on genuine social media accounts combined with cross-border money laundering outside of Taiwan makes it difficult for local law enforcement agencies to surveil such groups and gather evidence, it said.
“People must be alert to the possibility that online relationships can easily be faked and avoid online investment schemes,” the bureau said.
“If people have any doubts, they should report their situation to the police,” it added.
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