Mr. Wang (pseudonym), a young Chinese man in New York City, recently encountered a constantly updated “pig-killing” scam. He mistakenly believed the online “girlfriend” who was detained by “consulate staff” and paid a fine of more than $50,000 in cash. Later, he realized that everything was just a carefully designed scam. The police have now intervened in the investigation of this case.
According to Mr. Wang’s account to reporters, he met “Li Yan” (pseudonym) through the social media Facebook. Li Yan claimed to be from Shanghai and had lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years. Recently, she planned to go to the United States to “join” Mr. Wang and showed a screenshot of the electronic ticket from Hong Kong to New York Kennedy Airport.
On July 16, just when Mr. Wang was looking forward to the arrival of his “girlfriend”, he suddenly received a call from Li Yan, claiming that he was taken away by the “New York Chinese Consulate” staff as soon as he got off the plane because he brought a large amount of cash into the country.
Li Yan cried on the phone, saying that she was carrying 230,000 US dollars in cash, two gold bars and a bank card with 15.8 million Hong Kong dollars. After being “seized”, she was taken away and “detained” by several people who spoke Mandarin and claimed to be consulate staff at the airport. She could only be released after paying the so-called “fines”, “taxes” and “deposits”. She told Mr. Wang that many people who were detained with her before had paid and left, and because she had a large amount, she was the only one who was still detained.
Mr. Wang believed it and followed the instructions of the “consulate staff”. In order to pay the notarization fee and fine for Li Yan, he took out 53,000 US dollars that he had accumulated for many years working in a restaurant and handed it to the other party to take away. The person who took the money was a Tianjin woman who called herself Amy. The two parties “handed over” downstairs of Mr. Wang’s apartment. The woman verified her identity by taking a photo of the serial number of a one-dollar bill. The fraud method was very similar to the “pig-killing” routine.
Mr. Wang thought that he would be released as agreed upon if he paid the money, but the other party said that the consulate leader would not sign, and instead demanded another $23,000 in taxes and a $50,000 fine on the grounds that Li Yan had to pay taxes on the amount of money she brought. Mr. Wang followed the instructions of the other party to remit the “tax” of 23,000 yuan, but the bank returned it because the other party’s account was abnormal. He then realized that the other party might not be a member of the Chinese Consulate and gradually realized that he might have been deceived.
Under the reporter’s questioning, Mr. Wang admitted that he had never seen the other party’s true face, and had not even had a video call with Li Yan, but he still believed that Li Yan’s crying on the phone after being detained was a true expression of her feelings. During the communication with the reporter, Mr. Wang still insisted, “I also talked to the consulate’s ‘leader’ on the phone, and I think it’s true that Li Yan was detained.”
But because the other party refused to disclose the specific location where Li Yan was detained, he was not allowed to visit. He began to suspect that Li Yan was kidnapped, so he prepared to report the kidnapping case to the police. Mr. Wang was worried that the police would ask him about the tax return of the 53,000 yuan in cash he handed over to the other party, so he planned to consult a lawyer.
The reporter called the Chinese Consulate General in New York to verify the case. The consular staff clearly stated that the consulate is a diplomatic institution of China in the United States, not a law enforcement unit. Only the local law enforcement agencies in the United States have the power to enforce the law in the United States. The consular staff suggested that the parties call the police immediately and seek help from the local police. If Chinese citizens encounter this situation, after calling the police first, they can also call the consular protection hotline for help: 212-695-3125.
Mr. Wang finally chose to report the case to the police station. The police initially confirmed that this case was a “pig killing” fraud case, and said that such cases are numerous, and people come to report the case almost every day.
The police reminded the public that the “pig killing” fraud methods are constantly being updated, from the early “investment scam” to “kidnapping rescue” and “emotional hostage” and other new forms. Fraudsters often use emotional attacks, critical situations, and false identities to conceal their true colors and lure victims into serial payment traps. The public is advised to be vigilant.
The police urge the public to contact the police as soon as possible if they have any clues related to this case or encounter similar suspicious situations, and remind their relatives and friends to pay special attention to online dating traps.
