Shanghai police dismantle a large-scale criminal syndicate operating fraudulent dating apps. Photo: CCTV

Shanghai police has dismantled a large-scale criminal syndicate operating fraudulent dating apps and arrested 77 suspects in the case that involved over 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) in illicit proceeds, according to CCTV News on Tuesday.

Since September 2025, police in Pudong of Shanghai have received successive reports from multiple victims stating that after being induced to make large-value top-ups on various dating apps, their so-called "romantic partners" suddenly cut off all contact. Following months of meticulous investigation, a highly organized and technically sophisticated fraud syndicate led by Liu and Xu was uncovered, per CCTV.

Having thoroughly uncovered the gang’s organizational structure, criminal methods and hideout locations through meticulous preliminary investigations, the police launched a series of operations in other provinces and cities outside Shanghai from December 2025. 

In those operations, 77 suspects were apprehended, including the ringleaders Liu and Xu, and a large number of crime-committing tools were seized, such as computers and mobile phones, as well as key pieces of evidence including fraud scripts and account books that documented scam lines and fund flows.

Investigations revealed that from November 2024, the gang had, under the cover of registering a network technology company, recruited a full-fledged team consisting of technical developers, operators and plot planners, and chat agents. The group crafted two distinct app installation packages: one was a victim-facing version rolled out on social platforms for user acquisition, and the other was an internal version exclusively for its "chat agents."

After downloading the so-called dating app, victims were required to purchase virtual coins via recharge to obtain "matching" eligibility and access chat rooms. Every text message sent and every voice or video call made would consume these coins. In sharp contrast, the internal version used by fraudsters allowed unlimited free chatting, thereby enabling a profit model of getting something for nothing, per CCTV.

Many of the "female" profile pictures and lifestyle photos on the app were either generated by AI tools or heavily retouched with beauty filters. A single "chat agent" could make over 10,000 yuan per month from the victims’ recharge payments. According to statistics, the total amount involved in the fraud case exceeded 10 million yuan.

Among the 77 suspects who have been apprehended, 34 have been placed under criminal detention by public security authorities in accordance with the law on suspicion of fraud, while 43 have been subjected to other compulsory criminal measures in accordance with the law. The investigation into the case is still ongoing.


Global Times