With the development of mobile Internet, many people choose to use dating software to make friends online. However, some fraud gangs take advantage of poor software management and use ambiguous words to induce users to recharge and defraud users of their money.
In 2022, Zong, a resident of Jixi City, Heilongjiang, downloaded a local dating app called "Moqing", and soon many female users took the initiative to contact him.
Reporter Zong:
I had a very good chat with a female anchor at that time. She was very proactive. Not only did he show me photos, he also chatted with me via voice and video chat.
However, this dating software is not free to use. Users need to recharge whether they communicate with each other through text or video.
Reporter Zong:
As soon as I asked her to meet, she said we couldn’t meet in private and had to top up on the platform to increase her membership level.
The woman Zong liked claimed to be a local and her words were ambiguous when chatting with him. Under the woman's constant inducement, Zong recharged more than 20,000 yuan, but did not even add the other party's WeChat ID, let alone meet. Only then did Zong feel that he might have encountered a scam.
After the police received the report, the investigation found that the registered address of the software was in Guangdong, and the location of the woman who had been in contact with Zong was not in Jixi City.
The money recharged by male users will be divided between the platform and the anchor in proportion.
Pay to chat
Several dating apps suspected of fraud
Mr. Zong’s experience is not an isolated case. During the investigation, the reporter found that many dating apps were suspected of fraud, and there were victims across the country. Recently, Ms. Wang from Harbin discovered a variety of dating apps on her 16-year-old son’s mobile phone. After reading the content, Ms. Wang was very angry.
Ms. Wang:
Many women came to say hello. Are you lonely? Not just one or two, but a bunch of women came to say hello. How can a 16-year-old teenager have such strong self-control? He spent more than 1,000 yuan on top-up in one week.
In Yingtan, Jiangxi, Mr. Liu also described to reporters his unpleasant experience with dating apps.
Mr. Liu:
I downloaded a dating app called "Shepan". I was very happy at first because I could make so many friends of the opposite sex.
However, like the situation of Mr. Zong and Ms. Wang’s son, Mr. Liu needs to spend money as long as he chats on the platform. The woman also refused to accept offline meetings or refused to provide her contact information.
Mr. Liu:
I spent more than 3,000 yuan in one month, but later I felt that it was all a lie. Just let me keep recharging.
Stay away from such dating apps
Guard your money bag
Experts say that a large part of the reason why this kind of software exists is to take advantage of men's desire to make friends and lure them into recharging money. Even if they lose money, they are too embarrassed to announce it. Experts also said that this kind of behavior cannot be simply regarded as a voluntary contribution between you and me. Relevant departments should intervene and prohibit this kind of deceptive communication. (CCTV News Client)