rule of law (file photo) Photo: VCG

A woman in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province has been detained for pretending to be her friend’s boyfriend in an online dating scheme that lasted 12 years, to defraud her of money, according to thepaper.cn on Tuesday.

Zhang Meng (alias), introduced by her best friend surnamed Li, met a man online who claimed to be a single British man. Over the 12 years, the “boyfriend” appeared thoughtful even though they never met in person, nor have they had any phone conversations or video chats, according to the report.

The “boyfriend” constantly found different reasons to ask Zhang to transfer money. Zhang’s relatives noticed something suspicious and urged her to report it to police. After an investigation, police officers confirmed that the “boyfriend” was actually Li.

According to the report, the “boyfriend” frequently cited his serious illness, financial difficulties, and hotel expenses among other reasons, to ask Zhang to transfer money to his account.

Zhang would often ask Li to verify the identity of the “boyfriend,” and always received reassuring answers. In the end, she ended up transferring more than 129,000 yuan ($18,220). 

According to police, Li assumed multiple online roles to deceive Zhang. They discovered several accounts on her phone, and aside from those she used herself, she had created fake accounts for the “boyfriend,” his friends and colleagues.

thepaper.cn-Global Times