Illustrations: Peter C. Espina/GT

"Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope," said Greek philosopher Aristotle. This still seems to be true in today's China. According to ycwb.com, Bureau of Public Security of Guangzhou Municipality held a press conference recently to report the achievements of cracking down on telecom fraud cases in 2019. Surprisingly, less than 20 percent of the telecom fraud victims were older than 60, which means that young Chinese people are more vulnerable to fraud. Some fraudsters pretend to be presentable and rich and start an online affair. They use fake IDs, fake photos and even fake sexuality to win the victims' trust and sponge money off them. Some of these well-educated young people in their 20s or 30s want to start a fling or get married soon under social pressure. Thus, they may be easily hoodwinked by the fraudsters' sweet talk. Young Chinese people should take the cover off their eyes and think twice before believing in the seemingly perfect "Prince Charming" or "Princess Charming" online.