Chinese divorcee fleeced by best female friend in phantom boyfriend scam

A woman was scammed out of over a million yuan by her online “boyfriend” who turned out to be her female best friend in real life, mainland media report.

The divorced single woman ran a clothing store in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and in 2014 struck up a friendship with another woman, Ma Ping, who worked at the store next door, according to the Hangzhou-based Youth Times.

Ma introduced the divorcee to a “boyfriend” who Ma said owned a hardware factory.

Over the next three years, the divorcee and the boyfriend communicated via phone and WeChat but never met in real life.

During the three-year relationship, the boyfriend repeatedly asked for money, claiming to be in financial hard times. In all, the divorcee handed over 1.5 million yuan (US$218,000) and borrowed cash from relatives to support herself and her boyfriend.

The woman’s parents eventually became suspicious and called the police for help.