Terrified

It wasn''t until we had an actual video chat that my doubts disappeared - she was real!

GD, a Chinese-American in his 40s, encountered an attractive Hong Kong woman through messaging on Reddit, who attracted him through text and video chats, promises of a future, and an impressive stock portfolio. Un most of the scams we hear about, this particular scam did not use cryptocurrencies nor their brokerage firm on MT4/MT5 (the trading platform), but rather took advantage of the stock''s "explosion" plummeted".

Using trust tactics (deceiving someone after first gaining trust) and financial fraud (in which someone compromises your finances through deception, misleading, or other illegal conduct) are two of the many known methods of fraud. I think I am a victim of the pig-killing scam (mixed scam of romance + sudden rise and fall of stocks).

Typically, the scams are straightforward: ones that ask you to transfer money to someone else''s account or give up sensitive information. But this time it was an indirect scam. I didn''t expect this scam of skyrocketing prices to plummet.

I am a Chinese American in my forties who is interested in and attracted to Asian women. In hindsight, being single and unlucky with dates, this would have been the one ploy I was most susceptible to in terms of romance scams from the Killing Plate . The only difference between this version of the Pig Killer and the others is that there is no cryptocurrency or MT4/5 (trading platform) involved. Through seemingly random social media connections, I met a girl from Hong Kong on Reddit (via DM). After a week of friendly exchanges, she invited me to chat on WhatsApp. I had encountered catfishing (people who use false identities on social media) before, so I was still skeptical, but at the same time I accepted our connection with an open mind. Out of curiosity, I agreed.

After further communication, we ended up sharing the photo. She is a beautiful woman in her thirties. She spoke to me carefully and we texted each other every day. I''m an introvert - I was attracted to her, but I also cynically wondered if she was real. It wasn''t until we had an actual video chat that my doubts disappeared - she was real! In just two weeks we went from being friendly friends to flirting as a couple. We both expressed our romantic feelings for each other and even jokingly discussed the idea of marriage. We talk about lifestyle, family, childhood, dreams and other personal stories. The next week, she casually showed me her extensive portfolio. She attributes her success to her uncle, an investment banking manager. She explained that she would receive his information about investing in stocks in advance, so she would make a profit every time.

This promise of guaranteed profits and my trust in her finally lured me into investing. Unconsciously, my ambition grew bigger and bigger. I was convinced this was a guaranteed benefit. I became greedier and invested a quarter of my assets. Once I bought in, she would ask to see the screenshot, but as soon as I showed it to her, the stock plummeted that same trading day. I fell for the same trick twice. The first time was through Hong Kong stocks, and the second time was through US stocks. She wanted me to continue, but I had heard enough about investing and my stock portfolio was already big enough. Most pig slaughter scams trick people into fake crypto trading platforms, but I actually purchased through a legitimate brokerage. Through this harrowing experience, I developed some suspicions and discovered many red flags that I had previously overlooked, such as those in her online profile. She has other profiles and uses different aliases. I didn''t want to believe that the whole thing was a scam or that this woman didn''t love me, and I was afraid of doubting love. Even though I was cheated on, I still had feelings for her. It was only when she stopped having feelings for me that I finally got over it.
Sadly, in a dating situation, I feel I would prefer chatting with this scammer online than dating women in real life. It is more painful for me to face expensive, impatient, arrogant lawyers, grumpy, unhelpful private investigators, ready to make useless reports and pessimistic thinking than to face fake relationships. Lawyers will tell you that they can only provide limited help, so don’t get your hopes up. Other professionals were even more unable to cope with my urgent involvement and eventually gave up on me. The lines between con men and regular people can become blurred. People are superficial and greedy. There is no doubt that looks and wealth are important. The real scam in dating is that we accept and reject thousands of people because of trivial feelings/desires. The only difference is the level of deception involved. Sometimes I cynically/jokingly wonder if I could learn from these scammers how they attract women, but I''m not particularly handsome or rich, and I''m still looking for love at the moment.

Sometimes I feel hopeless, I''m drowning and there''s no one to help me. Sometimes tell yourself it’s lucky it’s not the end of the world. Go back to your normal life. I''m lucky that I didn''t lose all my money. I can still live a normal life. In life you hear about people marrying someone for money and murdering him after many years of marriage but he never truly loved the other person. Such crazy things happen in life. This thing still bothers me and it takes away most of my thinking. But it''s good to connect with other victims to let you know you''re not alone and start developing a game plan. 1. Collect evidence, organize data, and report to the police and financial regulatory agencies when ready. 2. Investigate. Talk to other victims or people you trust. There is no need to feel ashamed as this is a big burden for all. Consider it an experience! Sometimes in life, tragedy strikes and there''s nothing you can do about it. There''s nothing you can do about it. While the chances of getting your scammed money back are low to none, at least in these situations, there are a few other things you can do. In addition to these practical steps and online promotions, you can cry, but don’t forget to learn, love, live, and laugh.