Son traps investment fraud group, helps father get back half a billion dong

A son in Taiwan came up with an ingenious plan to help his father recover money from an online investment scam gang.

The son tricked the scammers into believing they would receive additional investment, and eventually helped his father recover the NT$700,000 (over VND544 million) he had been tricked into investing, according to the South China Morning Post on December 26.

Illustration photo

The incident was revealed by the victim's son in an online post and later reported by Taiwan's EBC News on December 17.

Details about the father and son, including their names and ages, have not been released.

According to EBC News, the father, who lives in Nantou County in central Taiwan, fell victim to an online investment scam. The online scammer posed as a woman and repeatedly flattered him, convincing him to invest NT$700,000 in cash.

"The group of scammers called my father 'dad' and kept asking, 'Are you okay? Have you had dinner tonight? Did you sleep well?' They kept asking about your health," the son told EBC News.

The father installed an app introduced by the scam group on his phone, which reported that the total investment amount had increased to NT$1.3 million (US$40,000), and the profit was more than NT$600,000.

But when the father was eager to withdraw his profits, the scammer said that "father needs to reach a certain amount before he can withdraw".

The son became suspicious after his father complained about not being able to withdraw his money. "After my father shared, I went home and started watching anti-scam videos on YouTube. I came across a video where the YouTuber said, 'You need to offer a bigger lure than you lost to have a chance to get your money back,'" the son said.

“Inspired by that, I decided to follow a similar strategy by using my father's phone to reconnect with the scammer,” the son added.

The son pretended to be his father and told the scammers that he had two friends who wanted to invest NT$500,000 and NT$1 million respectively.

As the conversation went smoothly, the son changed tack by appearing to need money urgently to solve a family problem, asking to withdraw NT$700,000 from the profit amount shown by the phone app.

At first, the scammers were hesitant, but the son spent hours convincing them, even playing three roles, including two interested investors who seriously asked about investment details.

Finally, seeing a lucrative opportunity, the scammers agreed to return NT$700,000.

Soon after, the scammers continued their scheme, claiming that the app now showed a profit of NT$2.35 million but required a 5-10% tax to be paid before the father could withdraw any money. However, the father did not fall for the trap.

The son's ingenuity has received praise online. "This is really anti-cheating work," commented one online observer.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/con-trai-bay-nhom-lua-dao-dau-tu-giup-cha-lay-lai-so-tien-tuong-duong-nua-ti-dong-185241227110234401.htm