Woman gives money to scammer impersonating actor Romeo Tan
The 46-year-old woman truly believed she was about to elope with local TV actor Romeo Tan.
Why not? They had made a blood pact to get married in New York. It did not matter that they had started chatting only in December.
Ms Yan, a 39-year-old auditor, told Lianhe Zaobao that her sister is a long-time fan of Tan.
Perhaps star-struck, the older sister did not question why the 38-year-old actor, a Singaporean, would ask her for 3,000 yuan ($572) to apply for the marriage certificate.
She transferred another 2,500 yuan before approaching Ms Yan for a loan as she did not have enough money to buy the game cards the fake Tan had asked for.
Ms Yan told the Chinese daily that her sister is simple-minded and she refused to believe that she had been scammed.
"I had a video call with him but he looked 'wooden' when he spoke. I have been a fan of Romeo for more than 10 years, and I didn't expect him to be a liar," said the older sister.
Tan, who is coinidentally holidaying in New York, wrote on Facebook: "I would like to remind everyone to be vigilant. I will never ask for money from my followers, nor will I suggest private meetings."
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