Female wealthy businesswoman falls victim to online dating scam, loses over NT$100 million worth of Ether, setting a new record for scam amount in Tainan.

According to a report by CNA, a middle-aged woman in Tainan City who runs a real estate business was deceived by a male online friend into investing over 100 million New Taiwan Dollars in cryptocurrency, which was then transferred in full to the male online friend. The woman realized she was being scammed only when she was asked to pay several million in handling fees in order to cash out, prompting her to report the fraud to seek help from the authorities.

Online Dating Scam Leads to Investment Fraud, Female Entrepreneur Cheated Out of Over NT$100 Million

A female entrepreneur from Tainan was scammed by a male online acquaintance she met on Facebook. The man appeared knowledgeable in finance when she inquired about tax-related information, gaining her trust.

The man later promoted investing in the cryptocurrency "Ethereum" (ETH) as highly profitable, persuading the female entrepreneur to purchase Ethereum with New Taiwan Dollars on an exchange. Following the man's instructions, she transferred the Ethereum to an external digital wallet and then made transfers to an account designated by the man. The female entrepreneur gradually transferred over NT$160 million worth of cryptocurrency.

In June of this year, when the female entrepreneur attempted to withdraw the Ethereum, the man delayed the process, even demanding payment of millions in comprehensive income tax upfront. It was then that the female entrepreneur realized she had been deceived and reported the case to the Tainan City Police Department. According to the Tainan Police Department, this case set a new high for single-person fraud amounts in Tainan in recent years.

Related Case: Federal Bank Employee Allegedly Colludes with Fraud Group to Swindle Millions of NT Dollars

Key Mistake: Unfamiliarity with Cryptocurrency, Entrusting Assets to Others Easily

In cryptocurrency-related fraud cases in Taiwan, "emotional connection" and "high-profit investments" are common elements.

The male online acquaintance persuaded the female entrepreneur from Tainan to invest, and due to her lack of familiarity with cryptocurrency operations and anonymity, she easily transferred the cryptocurrency to the man's related wallet. Once the cryptocurrency enters a self-custodial wallet such as MetaMask or any overseas cryptocurrency platform developed by criminals, tracking the flow of fraudulent funds becomes extremely difficult.

In a state of unfamiliarity with cryptocurrency, users should utilize reputable platforms or self-custodial wallets under their sole control, rather than entrusting management to others, to reduce the risk of asset loss.

The Challenges of Investigating Cryptocurrency Crimes in Taiwan

Preventing Online Dating Scams and Avoiding Cryptocurrency Fraud

Do not trust investment information from unknown sources; maintain a cautious and skeptical attitude and conduct research on the information. In Taiwan, when using exchanges, pay attention to whether the exchange complies with anti-money laundering regulations or belongs to widely used platforms in the market like CoinMarketCap's Exchange Rankings. Additionally, never easily transfer your holdings of cryptocurrency digital assets to anyone for management.