Reporter Zhang Hongyi / Special Report
2025-08-14 08:05:12
2025-08-14 08:06:17
“People can’t earn wealth beyond knowledge, do you agree?” He gushed endlessly about the wonders of cryptocurrency, claiming to build a world-leading crypto trading platform. Under the dazzling lights, the packed auditorium was captivated. The Shenxing Exchange, known as “SUREX,” lured investors into the cryptocurrency world, hoping for riches. Little did they know, the organization siphoned off hundreds of millions of yuan and then vanished, leaving them with no recourse to seek redemption.
Ms. C was one of those individuals. She usually focused on investment and financial management. In 2023, she suddenly received a private message from an unfamiliar friend, offering her access to Shenxing Exchange’s investment platform. The earlier she joined, the higher the return on investment for early members. Ms. C, unfamiliar with virtual currencies, initially invested small amounts. As profits gradually began to flow in, she invested nearly NT$3 million. During this time, she also attended forums held by the organization in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.
“Because the founder was Taiwanese, handsome, well-mannered, and able to explain investment and financial products with great clarity,” Ms. C was convinced by what she saw. However, when she finally tried to recover her principal, the website and app were completely shut down, leaving Ms. C with a loss of over NT$2 million.
According to the National Police Agency’s “Anti-Fraud Dashboard,” from August 2024 to July 2025, fake investment scams consistently ranked first in fraud victims, resulting in losses totaling NT$72.98 billion. This sum is equivalent to 2.5% of the central government’s total budget and the annual budget of a medium-sized government agency. It could build a Taipei Metro line or buy all the apartments in Taipei’s Da’an District.
Andy Chen, moderator of the Facebook group “Anti-Scam Alliance,” said many people are initially in disbelief and even skeptical after being scammed. After verification, their worlds crumble, and they blame themselves and repent, afraid to share their experiences. Some, unwilling to accept the loss, hope to recover their money elsewhere, repeatedly falling prey to scammers.
Andy Chen, a business owner, was deeply devastated by the emotional scam 12 years ago, when his father was scammed. He founded the “Anti-Scam Alliance” fan page. However, his father was scammed eight times, losing 120 million yuan, which led to a breakdown in their relationship and a gradual estrangement. Chen revealed that the scammers used photos of beautiful women to ingratiate themselves with his father, then began promoting investment opportunities. Perhaps motivated by the money or to establish a strong image in front of the scammers, his father invested without hesitation, ultimately losing everything.
Fake dating and investment scams closely followed fake investment scams, resulting in losses of NT$15.78 billion. Other scams, such as fake prosecutors and police officers, fake dating and matchmaking scams, and fake buyers defrauding sellers, ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. Andy Chen said that victims often suffer from severe depression and even suicidal thoughts due to long-term self-blame. “They called me and started crying before they even started talking. I put myself in their shoes, listened, and understood, and over the past two years, I’ve saved over 30 people.” Ms. C believes that there are so many scams that even if people haven’t been deceived, they might be tricked by different schemes. Prevention is impossible, and we must address them at the source.
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, announced that it had removed over 146,000 advertising accounts and over 1.6 million fraudulent ads from Facebook and Instagram in Taiwan by 2024. However, even with the advancements in technology, fraudsters are still finding their way. In recent years, the sophisticated application of generative AI technology has advanced scams, allowing them to use stolen celebrity photos to generate images and voices of celebrities, accurately matching their mouth movements to the real person. Caixin Media Chairman Xie Jinhe and Yuanta Investment Consulting Chairman Hu Ruihan are among the victims.
In February of this year, a woman in Taipei City received repeated calls from people claiming to be from a bank, prosecutors, or police, claiming she was involved in a dummy account. They also asked her to record a statement via video call. Using AI technology to simulate a police station scene, the woman mistakenly believed she was speaking to a real officer. She followed the instructions and provided her ATM card. Only after her NT$88.91 million in savings were completely withdrawn did she realize she had been scammed.
Professor Jui-Rey Ko of the Department of Border Police at National Police University explained that common AI voice scams involve emergency situations, where scammers impersonate friends and family, claiming they’ve been in a car accident, kidnapped, or other emergency, and demand immediate remittances. Another type involves impersonating individuals from institutions, such as government agencies or banks, claiming they are involved in a crime or have account issues, and demanding personal information or remittances. Jui-Rey Ko advises the public to remain calm and verify the facts if they encounter these situations, and not to be tricked into making remittances by fraud syndicates. Wang Po-Chi, Assistant Professor of the Department of Criminal Justice at Ming Chuan University, said AI technology can make sight unreliable, and that emerging technologies deserve the government’s high attention and consideration.