Stories of scams involving love and money online have become increasingly common in recent years – one of the negative effects of the boom in dating apps and online platforms. Indeed, love can blind many people, and the traps of online dating have never been harder to avoid. But now, it is even more alarming for gamers as this issue has started to infiltrate the gaming community, with the example below serving as the clearest evidence.
Specifically, the “victim” in this story is Xiao Fu, a 19-year-old student from China. The situation began when Xiao Fu – who had just broken up with his girlfriend two months ago – feeling disheartened, went online to play games, downloaded a voice chat software, and accidentally encountered someone who he connected with remarkably well. Like fish in water, the two played games and shared their lives, gradually developing feelings for each other, to the point where they became a couple without realizing it. Later, when she saw that the bait had been taken, the girlfriend gradually convinced Xiao Fu to transfer money to her under the pretext of needing funds for medical treatment and pursuing her career as a streamer, as well as meeting the KPI of the platform. She also promised to pay Xiao Fu back as soon as she started earning money.
To win his girlfriend’s affection, Xiao Fu agreed to transfer money a total of 94 times, amounting to over tens of billions VND. However, after feeling uneasy, he suddenly arranged to meet his girlfriend in person on August 1, only to receive no response. Prior to that, he had also requested a FaceTime call with her, but was met with silence. Xiao Fu’s parents soon learned of the situation and immediately took their son to the police station.
After an investigation, it turned out that Xiao Fu’s girlfriend was Hoang – a girl weighing nearly 200kg, who used images of other beautiful women and hot girls to attract men when chatting or dating online. Besides Xiao Fu, Hoang was also “maintaining relationships” with several other men. She has since been arrested for further investigation.