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CNA
22-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
Unmet romantic demand in China fuels matchmaking scams targeting singles
East Asia Scammers are exploiting China's growing singles population. As demand for matchmaking services grows, so too does matchmaking-related fraud. SINGAPORE: To lure singleton victims, a criminal syndicate recruited female workers from KTVs and bars as 'matchmaking decoys' to spark interest on dating platforms. The ruse worked: 128 people were swindled out of more than 2.5 million yuan (US$342,000). The case is part of a worrying trend in fraud cases related to matchmaking and dating platforms, highlighted by China's top prosecutorial body as it sounded the alarm over scams exploiting the country's growing singles market. From January 2024 to March this year, 1,546 individuals were prosecuted in criminal cases linked to the matchmaking industry, revealed the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) in a statement published last Thursday (Apr 17). 'In recent years, demand for matchmaking services has steadily grown - but so too have related illegal and criminal activities,' said the SPP. There are no other statistics available showing whether there has been a rise in such cases. China saw its biggest drop in marriages on record in 2024, with just over 6.1 million couples registering for marriage. It was a 20.5 per cent drop from 7.68 million the year before, according to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs. Almost 30 per cent of 30-year-olds in the country were unmarried in 2023, according to the China Population and Employment Statistical Yearbook 2024 - up from 14.6 per cent a decade earlier. Against this backdrop of shrinking marriages and a swelling pool of singles, illicit matchmaking operations have found fertile ground. Chinese lawmakers have prioritised legislation to crack down on scams and corruption, while improving the country's business environment. This and more as delegates reviewed the standing committee's work report during China's annual Two Sessions. CNA'S Deborah Wong reports. In one case, Wang and four other suspects repeatedly introduced married women to their customers, and scammed six victims into paying 890,000 yuan in cash gifts and referral fees. The SPP also warned that some matchmaking agencies and dating websites do not review the information of registered members, and criminals have made use of this loophole to commit fraud by using falsified identities. One suspect, Xu, scammed a victim of 3 million yuan. Xu met the victim on a dating website and hid the fact that he was married with children. He developed a relationship with her, then fabricated reasons such as investments, parents' hospitalisations and even the death of his mother to scam her. One other case involved a 32-member ring that used fake identities to run investment scams. The suspects, having undergone 'training' from an overseas wire fraud group, posed as successful individuals on multiple matchmaking platforms. They scammed victims out of 16.8 million yuan through fake investment schemes. Some agencies also provided illegal cross-border matchmaking services. Under Chinese regulations, domestic agencies are prohibited from offering or covertly engaging in such services. Some agencies would fly customers out of China to go on blind dates with foreigners, under the guise of business trips or tourism. Others facilitated the entry of foreigners into China - either by helping them apply for short-term visas or, in some cases, through illegal means such as smuggling - all for matchmaking purposes. In one case, four suspects were charged with human trafficking and rape. They had advertised cross-border matchmaking services on the internet, and either took clients overseas to select their 'brides', or brought 'brides' into the country for them to choose from. Another suspect, surnamed Wan, trafficked 46 foreign women into China. Despite knowing that some were already married, Wan repeatedly sold them as 'brides' to single men across multiple regions in the country, profiting 1.33 million yuan in the process. Authorities reminded matchmaking agencies to uphold integrity, abide by the law and provide 'high-quality matchmaking services'. China crime Scams
South China Morning Post
13-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
400 cases withdrawn as China tackles ‘illegal' targeting of private enterprise
Prosecutors in China issued thousands of directives last year on 'correct law enforcement' and oversaw the retraction of more than 400 'improperly filed' criminal cases related to private business, as Beijing seeks to limit acts that 'harm the business environment '. According to a report released on Thursday by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, more than 6,500 corrective instructions were issued between January and November last year – targeting 'illegal investigative actions that jeopardised the socialist market economy'. Du Xueyi, head of economic crime prosecution, said addressing corrupt and harmful practices such as profit-driven law enforcement was a 'pivotal responsibility'. The actions taken last year were part of a systematic effort to 'rectify opportunistic law enforcement practices that … run counter to fair justice, severely undermine the credibility and authority of the judiciary, disrupt the rule of law, and harm the business environment', the report quoted Du as saying. China has intensified efforts to stabilise its post-pandemic economy and restore confidence in the business environment – amid challenges including high youth joblessness , weak domestic consumption and a renewed trade war with the United States. Beijing has also vowed to establish a fair and just legal framework that respects and protects the integrity of private enterprises – seen as crucial to economic vitality, innovation and job creation. 02:52 '50% tariff won't impact us': Chinese traders shrug off Trump's tariffs '50% tariff won't impact us': Chinese traders shrug off Trump's tariffs
