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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Taipei indicts 57 over romance scam
A sign at the main entrance of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Wu Sheng-ju, Taipei Times
Staff writer, with CNA
Taipei prosecutors yesterday indicted 57 people over alleged involvement in a romance scam ring, seeking a 25-year sentence for one.
A man surnamed Huang （黃） and his wife, surnamed Hsu （許）, allegedly set up a romance scam ring that utilized artificial intelligence （AI） tools, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement.
Members of a “list team” used photographs of women to create accounts on dating apps and when a person made contact via the fake account, members of a “new customer team” would take over, claiming they were short of their sales target and persuading them to purchase products such as fish oil, Antrodia cinnamomea （a species of medicinal mushroom） or power banks costing about NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 （US$31.52 to US$63.04）, the prosecutors’ office said.
After people made a purchase, the new customer team would send their personal information and chat records to a group chat, where members would decide whether to pass the account on to a “cultivation team” or a “returning customer team,” it said.
Members of the “cultivation team” would use photos of women as they chatted and built relationships with targets, it said.
They would asked for gifts such as smartphones, air purifiers and hair dryers, while also soliciting money, it said.
The group employed a software engineer who developed an AI voice-changing program capable of mimicking and learning the voiceprints of women, with the program taking over some of the conversations with targets, the office said.
The software engineer also created an employee performance management system, it said, adding that members of the group would be subjected to “inhumane physical and sexual punishments” if they failed to meet performance targets.
The prosecutors’ office concluded its investigation yesterday and indicted 57 people, including Huang, over alleged contraventions of the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act （詐欺犯罪危害防制條例）, the Money Laundering Control Act （洗錢防制法） and the Criminal Code, including fraud, money laundering and jointly committing fraud over the Internet as a group of three or more people.
Huang and Hsu targeted men who were genuinely seeking romantic relationships, exploiting their trust and ultimately causing them to lose their savings, prosecutors said.
The scheme inflicted severe financial losses, and undermined trust and stability in society, with some of the people targeted taking on debt to cover their losses, prosecutors said.
The group’s illicit proceeds totaled at least NT$900 million and more than 20,000 people were targeted, prosecutors said, adding that they have asked the court to impose a sentence of at least 25 years in prison for Huang and at least 18 years for Hsu.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
