{
  "id": 8897205,
  "title": "Chinese woman, 65, plays dual roles of beautiful doctor and mum to con man out of US$25,000",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/chinese-woman-65-plays-dual-roles-of-beautiful-doctor-and-mum-to-con",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-21T10:16:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3368264/chinese-woman-65-plays-dual-roles-beautiful-doctor-and-mum-con-man-out-us25000"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2021, a 65-year-old woman named Liu Hui from Shanghai fell victim to a scam orchestrated by another woman known as Yu Xiuzhen. Liu, a property contractor, connected with Yu on a social media platform, believing she was a 29-year-old doctor at a prestigious Grade 3A hospital in the city. Yu frequently shared updates about her life via videos, amassing nearly 7,000 videos and 10,000 followers. Liu was persuaded that Yu could help him secure business opportunities in Shanghai, leading to a romantic relationship. Despite living in the same city, Yu claimed she couldn't meet Liu's requests due to her mother's disapproval. She proposed that Liu provide a dowry of 300,000 yuan (US$45,000) and purchase property in Shanghai for the relationship to advance. Over five months, Liu transferred a total sum of 170,000 yuan (US$25,000) to Yu, although they never met in person. Yu never progressed the promised engineering project. Concerned, Liu alerted the authorities, who promptly apprehended the scammer. It emerged that Yu, born in 1961, had no medical qualifications and was merely a cleaner at the hospital. She utilized AI to alter her appearance by adding attractive elements to her videos, and also created a fabricated persona of her mother to convince Liu that their relationship was obstructed. Upon reviewing Yu's videos, police discovered hidden characters in some indicating \"This work contains AI-generated content.\" Yu had spent the scammed money on cosmetic surgery, skincare, and clothes. She had a previous conviction for fraud and was sentenced to four years in prison in 2009. The police utilized this case as a warning about a new type of AI-driven online dating scam, noting that telecommunications and online fraud totaled over 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) nationwide in the first half of last year, with fraud cases involving AI face-swapping and voice-mimicking rising by 45% in the first quarter of last year alone.",
  "summary": "A 65-year-old Chinese woman used artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate both a young doctor and her mother, successfully scamming 170,000 yuan (US$25,000) from a man. Liu Hui, a resident of Shanghai, connected with a woman named Yu Xiuzhen on a social media platform in 2021. Yu asserted that she was a 29-year-old doctor at a prestigious Grade 3A hospital in Shanghai, claiming influence over…",
  "key_points": [
    "65-year-old Liu Hui from Shanghai scammed out of US$25,000",
    "Yu Xiuzhen, 49, posed as 29-year-old doctor on social media",
    "Yu used AI to alter appearance, create fake mother persona"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}