Editor's note: The following was translated and edited from a report that appeared on the Chinese financial news site CF8.com.cn. It tells the story of a young man who answered a friend request from an attractive woman on the Chinese instant messaging service WeChat, then checked into a hotel with her after meeting in person. When he awoke, after somehow being drugged, he found 20,000 RMB in cash and a gold necklace were missing, along with the woman.

Pretty girl with a fancy purse and expensive watch, who lives in a five-star hotel and says she just got back from Milan; must be who she says she is, right? One young Nanjing man recently met just such a girl on the Chinese instant messaging app WeChat, and, after meeting up decided to check into a hotel room with her for the night. When he came to the next morning, apparently drugged, he was short 20,000 RMB in cash and a gold necklace…

WeChat, more like WaChout!

Xiao Gang'ai is a young man who spends a lot of time on his cell phone, especially on the Chinese instant messaging service WeChat, which he frequently uses to chat with friends. On September 9, Xiao received a friend request from an unknown but attractive female, which the app said was just 500 m away. Xiao accepted the request and started up a conversation immediately.

The young woman called herself Ziyan (紫烟: "Purple Haze"), from Xiamen, and told Xiao that she had just gotten in from Milan and was headed back in a few days. After a few minutes of chatting, the woman invited Xiao out for coffee. The next day, the two met in person. Ziyan looked to be 20 or so years old, short but well-mannered, and claimed to live in a five-star hotel. On her arm was an expensive purse and an expensive watch. Xiao fell in love instantly.

On September 11, Ziyan invited Xiao out for dinner and a movie, mentioning that she would be leaving the country again the next day, bringing along her suitcase. After dinner, Xiao found a hotel for them to spend the night, and the two began drinking wine and talking. The last thing Xiao remembers is calling the front desk for a bottle of Sprite, then he passed out. When he came to, it was 3 or 4 in the morning. Ziyan and her suitcase were nowhere to be found, along with Xiao's gold necklace and 20,000 RMB in cash. Xiao called the police.

The other side of the story

At the end of October, Ziyan was apprehended by the police. Did she really go to Milan? Evidence points to the contrary. Ziyan's real name is Li Sisi, and she's from Guizhou, not Xiamen. She lives with her cousin, not at a five-star hotel. She was, in fact, looking to go abroad in September, but to Indonesia, not Italy. The lies were made up to make herself seem more sophisticated.

Li says she and Xiao had sex that night in the hotel. Feeling like she had been taken advantage of, Li claims to have slipped sleeping pills into Xiao's drink while he was outside answering a phone call. The money has since been spent and the necklace exchanged for rings and other small jewelry. Li is currently under arrest in Nanjing for suspected robbery and has been taken into custody. Her case is pending further investigation.

The tip of the iceberg

Online scams and fraud are rampant in China and every year thousands of websites and individuals are busted for involvement in online criminal activity. The tragedy of the case above is the fact that such scams are likely to increase in the future as the tens of millions of Chinese bachelors grapple for means to find a partner; apps like WeChat make communication with strangers easier than ever before. While China's internet police do manage to catch a few big fish in the vast ocean of online scams and criminals, little fish like "Ziyan" are likely to flourish and even multiply in the bottomless sea of criminal opportunities. Extreme vigilance is the only reliable deterrent for not ending up like Xiao. 
 

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Keywords: WeChat scam WeChat instant messaging Chinese hookup scam