Chinese man nabbed for scamming over 40 men with photos of pretty schoolgirl ‘prostitute’
A driver has been arrested in eastern China for scamming more than 40 men of about 20,000 yuan (HK$23,250) by posing online as an attractive schoolgirl.
The 26-year-old man, surnamed Yang, uploaded to his social media account, photos he had found online of a young woman studying in a Shanghai university, the Legal Daily reported.
He then joined several online prostitution communities, sharing those photos and trying to attract “clients”, according to the report.
As a driver who used car-hailing apps, Yang, who is from Qingdao, Shandong province, would post frequently on social media, checking in at the locations he had driven to and try to draw men in those areas, the report said.
He would then ask internet users who expressed interest in seeing the girl to wire money to him through an online payment app.
He asked for amounts ranging from 600 yuan to more than 1,000 yuan each time and would become uncontactable after receiving the money, the report said.
Local police started investigations when an internet user reported Yang after finding pornographic images in his social media account.
Police soon uncovered the scam and found that Yang had cheated more than 40 men of around 20,000 yuan, according to the report.
Many victims of the scam did not report the matter to police as they were concerned about tarnishing their own reputations. This made it more difficult for police to crack the case, the authorities said.
Prostitution is illegal in China, although online prostitution communities as well as “call girls” in Chinese budget hotels have flourished in recent years.
