Recently, in Chinese communities in Western countries, the “Blessing Party” has targeted individuals in the UK, the US, Australia, and Canada, with similar fraud cases surfacing. Authorities are currently investigating these incidents. One recent case of a British Chinese senior citizen falling victim to a scam has attracted media attention.
According to a report by BBC, these scammers typically target elderly women who value family ties, using elaborate stories and persuasive language to convince unsuspecting victims to hand over money and valuable items to help their purported family members in danger.
On a day not long ago, Mungnee, a Malaysian Chinese woman in her sixties, was on her way to a yoga class when she was stopped by a tearful woman speaking Cantonese on Harrod Road in West London. The woman asked Mungnee if she knew a local Chinese doctor, claiming her husband was sick.
Subsequently, another Cantonese-speaking stranger appeared, claiming to know the doctor and offering to take them to see him. Driven by her desire to help the distressed woman seeking medical assistance, Mungnee followed along. In a quiet alley, a third woman appeared, claiming to be a relative of the doctor and offering to see if he could help.
To Mungnee’s shock, the doctor, through his “mysterious power,” revealed that her family member was also in danger, stating, “Your son will have an accident and die in the next three days.”
At that moment, several women told Mungnee that the doctor could “bless” her son by instructing her to “take a handful of rice and then put your gold jewelry and cash in a bag.” They assured her that these valuable items would be returned to her intact.
Trusting them, Mungnee accompanied one of the women back home to retrieve her jewelry, went to the bank to withdraw £4,000 in cash, and placed everything in a black plastic bag.
Mungnee later realized that the bag must have been switched during that time. When she opened the black bag at home, she found only a brick, a piece of cake, and two bottles of water.
“At that moment, I felt chilled… and then I told my son – I was scammed,” she said, noting that some of the stolen items were heirlooms from her mother.
Mungnee’s ordeal is a typical case of the “Blessing” scam. According to BBC, stories from multiple victims are strikingly similar, even down to referring to the supposed doctor as “Mr. Gao.”
Tuyet van Huynh’s mother was defrauded of tens of thousands of pounds in May. While shopping in Upton, East London, her mother encountered three women who staged the same act, using persuasive language to make her believe her son was under a spiritual threat.
Subsequently, Tuyet van Huynh launched a campaign on social media to warn people about the “Blessing Party” scam.
Over the past year, authorities in the US, Canada, and Australia have issued warnings about the “Blessing Party” fraud scheme.
In the UK, both Mungnee and Tuyet van Huynh’s mother have reported the incidents to the Metropolitan Police, which is investigating several cases in the Islington area of London.
Tuyet van Huynh has also received reports from other areas including Lewisham, Romford, Liverpool, and Manchester.
Mungnee told the police, “I will catch these people no matter what.”
What particularly unsettles her is that these fraudsters are targeting fellow Chinese individuals, “They are deceiving their own people.”