https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/5559898 ... -app-users

You all probably know better, but make sure you double check a person's identity before you send them money. No matter how much you trust them. If you have never met them in person, expect any money you give to be a donation.

China-Born "Romance Scam" Spread Overseas: Cyber-Forensics.net Alerts Dating App Users
Cyber-Forensics.net
MELBOURN, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, November 14, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- China-Born "Romance Scam" Spread Overseas: Cyber-Forensics.net Alerts Dating App Users

Codenamed "Romance Scam," the massive global "pig butchering strategy" in China is now spreading to Japan, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. As reported by FTC, the faulty investment schemes cost a record-breaking $304 million financial loss in 2020.

Cyber-Forensics.net, an industry leader in providing cyber-forensics services for victims of online scams, recently unveiled how offenders assume fake online identities to trick victims.

Fewer opportunities to go out amid the pandemic wave forced people to look for partners online through applications like Tinder, Bumble, OkCupid, Hinge, and Happn.

The reports highlight unidentified scammers creating fake profiles to gain the trust of the potential victims and lure them into investing millions.

In the past year, China created apps like Study Xi, Strong Nation, and similar apps to profess the teachings of their Chinese president and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. The app converted the teachings of the Chinese president into a game and allowed awarding points to frequent log-ins, time spent reading and watching videos. The Study Xi app soon became the most downloaded app in China.

In what seemed like Chinese government officials chatting on apps, the imposters had other intentions. The app users began targeting women to dupe them of millions of renminbi (the official currency of China) by claiming their official positions. The scammers claimed that their higher positions prevented them from using other social media apps or dating apps.

Later around April, a security audit by the Open Technology Fund discovered that the app contained a code amounting to a digital backdoor which allowed complete administrator-level access to a user's phone.

The matter attracted global attention and initiated worldwide investigations showcasing worrying implications towards the increasing cases.

In October, Hong Kong Police arrested 32 people for selling their bank accounts to fraudsters who later used them to launder more than HK$9 million (the US $1.2 million) in 2021. The police charged five men and 27 women with cyber deception and ensured further probing.

The details revealed that approximately HK$35 million came from 26 romance scams and 29 investment frauds, all taking place between February 2020 to January 2021.

In June 2021, Singapore and Malaysian police simultaneously joined the operations to dismantle Malaysia's transnational internet love scam syndicate.

The large-scale operations brought arrests in connection with an international financial fraud unveiling of victims in Singapore, losing S$64,000 and eight other victims in Malaysia, losing RM3.7 million (S$1.2 million) in total.

Cyber-Forensics.net released new insights into international trading scams, which have already cost nations heavily, and the most impacted countries might be Japan and the United States.
https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/5559898 ... -app-users