Taiwan police thwart romance and subsidy fraud attempts

Police in Taiwan have successfully intervened in two separate fraud attempts targeting individuals through online deception.

In Changhua, officers prevented a 57-year-old woman from transferring 20,000 TWD to a man she met online. The individual, who claimed to be a Chinese celebrity, had built a close relationship with the victim before requesting funds for daily expenses. Officers identified the situation as a ‘romance scam’ and convinced the woman to cancel the transaction.

In a separate incident, a man was targeted by scammers on Douyin promising fraudulent government subsidies. The scammers used fake success stories of million-dollar payouts to build trust and attempted to solicit the man's personal and financial information. The victim sought assistance from a patrolling officer, who identified the scheme as a scam before any financial data or funds were compromised.