Recently, a woman surnamed Huang, from Baoying county, East China’s Jiangsu Province, was determined to send money to a scammer against her daughter and son-in-law’s advice, who ended up having to call the police for help. Photo: web

Recently, a woman surnamed Huang, from Baoying county, East China's Jiangsu Province, was determined to send money to a scammer against her daughter and son-in-law's advice, who ended up having to call the police for help. After learning that the scammer claimed she could start a business at home with just a smartphone and would get to meet "Jack Ma" upon paying a fee of 1,888 yuan ($270), the police spent three hours persuading her.

Huang, who is nearly 60, was persuaded online to join a "home business team." Her son was ill and living in difficulty, so Huang decided to earn money by signing up for the team. When her daughter heard about it, she immediately recalled a recent police campaign in which two residents had been defrauded. During the protracted dialogue, Huang insisted on taking the phone from her daughter to transfer money to the scammer, and the two had a fierce argument again.

Later, the police persuaded her by saying: "If I change my WeChat profile picture and name to 'Jack Ma,' do you think I'm the real Jack Ma?" Faced with this hypothetical, Huang finally saw through the scam of the so-called "expert" on the other end of the phone.