AN English-language teacher in Shenzhen was swindled out of 140,000 yuan (US$21,819) in a WeChat scam recently, according to a report by Shenzhen TV.

The woman, surnamed Huang, added a man who claimed to be an American working in Shenzhen as a WeChat friend last December.

During their online chats, Huang found that they shared many similarities and interests, and eventually they decided to start a family.

Huang learned that the American had a 14-year-old son from a previous marriage. After two months of online contact, they had become close and the boy called Huang mom. But in January, the teenager started to ask Huang for help with buying textbooks as “his father had no money.”

Huang sent 7,000 yuan to the teenager after she was paid her salary. In the following months, Huang transferred 40,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan to the American’s son for the excuses of a traffic accident and applying for visas.

Huang said she transferred the money out of trust, but noticed that each transfer was sent to an account in China, instead of an overseas account.

The man claimed that he had quit his job in China as he wanted to go back to America. However, Huang was told by the American that before he could get paid, he had to pay the tax first, which amounted to 580,000 yuan.

As Huang was raising money to help the American pay the taxes, she got a feeling that she might be caught in a scam. Huang reported the case to the police. (Han Ximin)