Miss Match: Scams Target China’s Growing Singles Market
One man posed as a wealthy entrepreneur to lure victims into fake investments. Another arranged sham marriages using trafficked foreign women. A third pretended to be single, built a romantic relationship online, then swindled her partner out of 3 million yuan ($400,000).
Together, they’re part of a wave of scams sweeping China’s matchmaking sector — a booming industry now under scrutiny, after more than 1,500 people were prosecuted for related crimes in the past year. Warning of a sharp rise in fraud, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate — the country’s top prosecuting body — has highlighted a series of recent cases involving sham agencies, fabricated identities, and dating platforms used to lure victims into complex schemes.
