The police are counting the confiscated dirty money and various stolen goods, reported by Yang Fan.
The suspect Wang is regretful of his actions, reported by Yang Fan.
"Fair-skinned and beautiful with millions in assets, you can inherit wealth just by accompanying her on a trip..." Attracted by this ad placed by a wealthy woman in a newspaper, 38-year-old Xia from Sichuan province secretly contacted a matchmaking service behind his family's back. However, he never met the wealthy woman and instead fell victim to a scam! Recently, the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Corps and the Yubei District Criminal Investigation Detachment jointly dismantled a family-run marriage fraud ring. Over 300 people had similar experiences to Xia, with the total amount involved exceeding tens of millions of yuan.
Currently, all nine suspects have been apprehended, and the police have revealed the tricks used in these marriage scams.
Step 1: Tempting Ad - Wealthy Woman Offers an Olive Branch; You Win Either Way
One day in June last year, in Beichuan County, Sichuan Province, 38-year-old Xia idly flipped through a newspaper he had bought the day before. An advertisement caught his eye: at the center of the ad was a picture of a long-haired, beautiful woman, with the following text beside it: "Beautiful and charming, but forced to marry a wealthy businessman's foolish son due to poverty. After her husband's car accident death, she seeks a compassionate man to accompany her on trips across the country..." Finally, in bold red font, it read: "No impact on your family, with millions in assets legally transferred to your name."
Seeing no downside either way, Xia couldn't help but feel intrigued. He noted down the matchmaking phone number listed in the ad and called it early the next morning. On the phone, a woman claimed to be a matchmaker and said that if Xia wanted to meet the wealthy woman, he would need to pass her test first. After briefly introducing himself, the matchmaker "graciously" responded: "Your conditions are good, I'll help you contact her."
Not long after, a woman called Xia, claiming to be the wealthy woman in the ad with assets worth over ten million yuan. She also wanted to chat on the phone to get to know each other better. The wealthy woman reassured Xia: "It won't affect your family, rest assured, men won't lose out."
Step 2: Lavish Spending - A Tragic Life Story Evokes Sympathy; The Wealthy Woman Has No Love But Plenty of Money
After their first contact, the wealthy woman expressed interest in Xia and left her phone number, asking Xia to contact her secretly behind his wife's back. Xia couldn't believe that such good fortune had fallen into his lap? Nervously waiting for a week, Xia called the wealthy woman again. This time, the wealthy woman began crying and recounting her loveless life, tearfully narrating her hardships.
After several phone conversations, Xia gradually learned about the wealthy woman's background. She claimed that if Xia was willing to travel with her, as long as the trip eventually took place, the assets under her name could be transferred to him.
Xia rejoiced internally, preparing to tell his family that he was going out to work and then traveling with the wealthy woman. Upon returning home, he would become a millionaire.
When discussing meeting arrangements, Xia faced the final test. The wealthy woman requested, for safety reasons, that a representative from the matchmaking service witness their meeting.
Step 3: Continuous Scams - Collecting Money Under Various Pretexts, Cutting You Bit by Bit
Xia quickly informed the matchmaker that the wealthy woman had agreed to meet him and needed the matchmaking service to act as a witness. While congratulating him, the matchmaker mentioned that a deposit of 3000 yuan was required, mainly to prevent the man from changing his mind at the last minute. For 3000 yuan to gain millions, Xia thought it was worth it and immediately transferred the deposit to the account provided by the matchmaker. After receiving the payment, the matchmaker again requested another 3000 yuan for processing fees, which Xia complied with without hesitation.
Within a week, Xia made two transfers to the matchmaking service and anxiously awaited the results. Finally, the wealthy woman called: "In the future, all my assets will be yours. Pay the taxes to the matchmaking service, just four thousandths." Xia was overjoyed, borrowing money from all sides, and sent another 40,000 yuan to the matchmaker's account.
Still, the wealthy woman refused to show up. Xia started to feel anxious. Calming down, a terrifying thought crossed his mind: despite making multiple transfers, he didn't even have a receipt. All he had was the sound of the wealthy woman's voice. Could it be a scam? The matchmaker's final call poured cold water on Xia's head: "Send another 4000 yuan for her travel expenses."
Realizing the truth, Xia felt like swallowing a bitter pill in silence. He dared not tell his family and even more so, report to the police. Having been defrauded of 46,000 yuan, all he knew was that the matchmaking service was in Chongqing, with nothing else known.
Marriage Scam: I Am a Victim of Marriage
Yesterday afternoon, the reporter met the mastermind of the marriage scam group, Wang, who looked youthful and attractive, not appearing to be 38 years old. Wang claimed that previously, she and her husband ran a successful business together, transforming their impoverished family into a wealthy one. Two years ago, her husband suddenly divorced her, leaving her heartbroken and causing her business to falter. Later, she resorted to marriage scams to deceive others' money, "Money related to emotions is easier to obtain."
Nine Members From the Same Family, Defrauding Millions Annually
On July 30 last year, at apartment number 9-2 and 9-3 in Unit 2 of a certain residential area at No. 105, Yanggongqiao, Shapingba District, after two knocks on the door, the police suddenly burst in, pinning seven men and women to the ground. Subsequently, the police captured another couple nearby. Investigations revealed that these nine individuals were all suspects in marriage scams.
Prior to this, after extensive investigations, the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Corps and the Yubei District Criminal Investigation Detachment ultimately determined the exact location of these nine individuals. After successfully capturing them, the police seized 54 mobile phones, 120 bank cards, and 30 identity cards at the scene.
Fraudsters Sitting Beside Beds, Scripted Conversations Written Down
Inside the rooms, the setup was identical - a bed placed in the center of the living room, with small stools arranged around the bed. On the bed were numerous numbered mobile phones, beside which were lists with victims' names, and at the bedside were several notebooks.
Upon examining the notebooks, the police found that they were filled with dialogues marked with victims' names. Standardized questions and answers had been pre-written – they were sitting beside the beds, reading from the notebooks to communicate with the victims.
A Family Affair Specializing in Fraud for Over a Year
Investigations by the police revealed that all these individuals were from Tongliang County and were part of the same family, led by the 38-year-old woman, Wang. It was understood that starting from February 2008, Wang recruited her brother and seven other family members (three of whom were couples) to begin committing marriage scams.
Wang confessed that they purchased stolen identity cards for 10 to 20 yuan each from pickpockets, using them to open various bank accounts. They also bought large quantities of mobile phones and SIM cards, then continuously placed advertisements in unnumbered local newspapers across the country with slogans like "Fair-skinned and beautiful with millions in assets," either seeking companionship or offering inheritance in return for company. They waited for readers to call. Using one mobile phone per victim, each member of the marriage scam gang contacted multiple victims by phone, ultimately carrying out the fraud.
Three Hundred Successful Frauds, Involving Millions
According to the police, based on the amounts defrauded, the gang implemented a labor distribution system: if the amount was high, they split it equally; if low, whoever defrauded kept the proceeds.
According to the accounts seized on-site, over the past two years, the gang had attempted fraud in over 1,000 cases, successfully defrauding in over 300 cases, involving amounts exceeding tens of millions of yuan. Currently, they had already purchased three houses in Shapingba District and luxury cars.
Yesterday, the special task force officers returned over 800,000 yuan in cash to eleven victims. Among these victims, the highest amount defrauded was a staggering 396,000 yuan.
Most Victims Are Farmers; Do Not Easily Believe Illegal Ads
Yesterday, the leader of the special task force, Peng Jianping, introduced that all those deceived were low-educated individuals, mostly farmers from poor family backgrounds. "After sending payments, they often tried to recover their losses by making repeated payments to meet the wealthy woman sooner, always believing they were getting closer to her."
The police reminded citizens not to easily believe illegal advertisements, avoid publications without publication numbers, refrain from transferring money to strangers casually, keep records of transfer receipts, and for those seeking marriage, go to reputable matchmaking companies for face-to-face consultations with matchmakers. If costs arise during the matchmaking process, ensure transparency in pricing and be clear about the charges. If possible, verify the other party’s information through various channels before meeting to avoid being scammed. This article was written by reporter Huang He and intern Zeng Mi.