'Lust, Caution' actress swindled out of 210,000 yuan by telephone: report

Chinese actress Tang Wei fell victim to a US$35,000 fraud scheme after being persuaded over the phone to wire money to a suspect, state media reported on Sunday.

Citing local police, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that Tang, star of the critically acclaimed film Lust, Caution was filming in Shanghai on Saturday afternoon when she received a phone call and was persuaded to go to a bank and wire the 210,000 yuan (HK$267,000).

It was unclear who the suspect was and how exactly the actress was convinced to send thousands in cash.

Xinhua said police in Shanghai’s Songjiang district were investigating after receiving a report from Tang.

Internet users posted messages and photos on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo, claiming to have seen Tang in a bank.

Calls to the Songjiang police propaganda office and Tang’s Beijing-based agent rang unanswered Sunday.