Macau woman, 60, loses US$14,400 to online scammer

A 60-year-old woman in Macau has lost 100,000 Chinese yuan (US$14,400) to a boyfriend she never met face to face. The retired woman started talking to a foreign man on a social media platform in April this year.

The man claimed to be an American military doctor stationed in Syria, Hou Kong Daily reported. The two later became “lovers,” but the woman had never met him in person, talked to him on the phone or seen his face via video.

In July, the man claimed he would soon be demobilized and after that, he would get a payout of US$15 million. He told the woman he wanted to settle in China and marry her, adding that he had made the woman the beneficiary on his will.

Since then, the man asked the woman to help him to get a large sum of money three times. During July and November, the woman transferred a total of 100,000 Chinese yuan to the scammer.

On November 20, she received a message from the man, who asked her to send him US$10,500 to handle some issues related to the tourism authority. The woman finally realized she had been scammed and reported the case to police.

Police were investigating but no arrest has been made.