A Chinese con artist deceived 36 men by pretending to date them and convincing them to purchase apartments in a nearby city, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
The scam took place in Shenzhen, China, where the woman, who identified herself as Liu Jia, targeted men believed to be in their 30s.
After a short period of dating, Liu would persuade the men to buy residential properties in Huizhou, a city about 90 km from Shenzhen, or in Guangdong province, in southern China.
One victim, who used the alias Atao, shared that Liu claimed to be 30 years old, originally from Hunan, and working for an e-commerce company in Shenzhen. She told him that she would only agree to meet his parents and move in with him if he purchased a home.
To make the scheme seem credible, Liu even offered to contribute Rs 3.6 lakh (30,000 yuan) toward the down payment for two properties in Huizhou—Jiu Jing Tai and Hao Yi Shang Yuan. “She gave the impression of being kind, family-oriented, and considerate. I thought she was the perfect girlfriend,” Atao recalled.
However, after Atao bought one of the apartments, Liu became distant and eventually cut off all contact. As a result, he was left with a home loan of Rs 49,317 (4,100 yuan) per month, in addition to his rent in Shenzhen.
But Atao wasn’t her only victim. As per the report, Liu conned 35 other men into buying real estate in nearby cities before ghosting on them.
