That Taiwanese couple had quite an operation going. For the past two years, they ran a scam syndicate structured just like a proper corporation, using fake profile pictures of attractive women and AI voice changers on dating apps to hook victims. According to local reports, they organized their crew into specialized teams—lead generation, new targets, public relations, and repeat customers—running a well-oiled machine that drained the wallets of over 20,000 men. All told, they raked in a cool NT$900 million, which works out to about US$29 million.
Their playbook was deep. They would start by making contact with downloaded photos, then push cheap fish oil supplements or power banks priced around NT$1,000. Once a virtual romance was established, they’d invent excuses—gifts, meetups, living expenses, medical bills—to squeeze victims for endless sums of money. To top it all off, they even had an in-house engineer develop custom AI voice-changing software to help sell the deception. The female PR team members even had to hand over any gifts they received from offline dates, turning the business of falling in love into a high-yield racket.
Play with fire long enough and you’re bound to get burned. Authorities back on the island have now formally indicted 57 people in connection with the ring. The mastermind couple are totally finished, with prosecutors slapping them with heavy sentences of 25 and 18 years in prison. Sitting around chatting at the local coffee shop, people are saying that for a crew running such a vicious, exploitative scam, running into the long arm of the law was only a matter of time.
