Deceived Chinese Abroad: If You’ve Been Scammed in Europe, Contact RUE — We Can Help

Chinese nationals who study, invest, or start companies in Europe are being targeted by increasingly professional fraud operations, including online investment ‘romance baiting’, fake immigration or golden-visa offers, crypto platforms that vanish after ‘profits’ are shown on a dashboard, and even ‘cyber-kidnapping’ schemes that terrorise families. These groups combine long-term social engineering with sophisticated websites, multilingual agents, scripted call centres and, increasingly, AI voice and deepfake tools to establish trust before directing victims to fake brokerage apps or off-platform payment systems. Law enforcement agencies in Europe have dismantled large criminal networks tied to hundreds of millions of euros, demonstrating the industrialised and cross-border nature of these scams. In June 2025, for instance, Spanish police, supported by Europol, dismantled a crypto-investment network alleged to have laundered approximately €460 million. They coordinated arrests and traced funds across multiple jurisdictions, and reports indicate that complex corporate and banking structures were employed to move money through exchanges and payment gateways.

A crucial point for Chinese readers is that the language we use matters. INTERPOL has urged the media and the public to stop using the stigmatising term ‘pig-butchering’ and instead use more respectful and precise terms such as ‘romance baiting’ or ‘investment scam’. Victims are more likely to report quickly – and preserve crucial evidence – when shame is not amplified by dehumanising labels. This change in terminology is part of a wider effort to reduce the stigma surrounding victims and draw attention to the organised crime infrastructure behind these frauds. Targeting is not limited to investors. Students and young professionals fall victim to ‘cyber-kidnapping’: scammers impersonate police or consular officials, isolate the victim and coerce them into taking staged photos or videos in order to extort money from their families back home. Several cases in 2024 made headlines, illustrating a pattern specifically targeting Chinese students abroad and demanding ransoms of tens of thousands of dollars.

Real estate and immigration are also exploited. In Greece, for example, the authorities have investigated alleged fraud relating to property sales marketed under the Golden Visa scheme. Reports have highlighted irregularities, inflated prices and the repeated resale of the same units to non-EU buyers, including Chinese nationals. For families seeking residence through investment, the combination of complex paperwork, language barriers and aggressive marketing creates fertile ground for deception unless rigorous due diligence is carried out.

From a threat landscape perspective, Europe’s cyber and fraud agencies highlight the extent of the problem. ENISA has documented large-scale takedowns of scam infrastructure and millions of scam-linked accounts, with organised groups refining grooming scripts and using crime-as-a-service tools to widen their reach. The message for potential victims is clear: swift reporting and professionally packaged evidence can make a difference because the police and payment platforms are actively coordinating cross-border actions when they have credible leads.

If any of these patterns sound familiar – an online ‘advisor’ urging you onto a special app; a platform showing significant paper gains but blocking withdrawals; a sudden ‘police’ call demanding secrecy; or a property or visa deal that can only be reserved today – treat it as a red flag. Preserve every message, invoice, wallet address and bank/EMI transaction ID, and contact qualified assistance immediately. Regulated United Europe (RUE) can triage the case, compile admissible evidence for banks and the police, coordinate reports in the relevant EU jurisdictions and collaborate with investigators on tracing and civil remedy options, so that you do not have to navigate a cross-border scam alone or lose more money to ‘recovery’ impostors. (RUE‘s assistance complements, rather than replaces, law enforcement processes. The goal is to stabilise the situation quickly and provide the authorities with the best possible dossier.)

What these scams look like today

Investment/romance baiting tied to crypto typically unfolds over weeks or months. Victims are ‘groomed’, steered to a slick but fictitious broker site or app, shown paper profits, and then blocked at the moment of withdrawal. European actions in 2025 illustrate the industrial scale of these scams and the cross-border money flows involved. On 30 June 2025, Reuters reported that Spanish police, with the support of Europol, had dismantled a crypto-investment ring alleged to have laundered €460 million. The ring used layered bank transfers, cash withdrawals, crypto exchanges and corporate fronts – even outside the EU – to obscure the proceeds. Five arrests were made in Madrid and the Canary Islands, with the cooperation of France, Estonia and the US.
In a similar vein, on 13 May 2025, Europol detailed the coordinated takedown of multimillion-euro investment scams and related arrests, which were amplified by regional media (e.g. Infosecurity Magazine on 24 September and 14 May 2025). This underscores how ‘professionalised’ boiler-room operations now pivot between crypto, FX and CFD narratives depending on the audience.

A parallel threat targeting families is so-called ‘cyber-kidnapping’. Scammers impersonate police or consular officials, isolate a victim (often a student abroad) and coerce them into taking staged photos in order to extort money from their relatives. On 2 January 2024, The Guardian reported on the case of Kai Zhuang, a 17-year-old Chinese exchange student who was found alive in Utah after his parents were pressured to pay $80,000. Authorities emphasised the sophisticated social engineering behind the hoax. The following day, the Associated Press independently confirmed the story, detailing how the teenager had been convinced to hide in the wilderness while his family negotiated with the criminals. These cases demonstrate the psychological precision of such schemes and highlight the importance of fast, well-documented reporting.

Residency and property angles are also exploited, particularly where golden visa programmes meet opaque real estate marketing. In September 2024, Greece’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority opened investigations into alleged fraud relating to property sales marketed to foreign buyers, including Chinese nationals, seeking residency. Reports highlighted the repeated resale of the same units and inflated pricing tactics in areas where programme thresholds had changed. Coverage by The National Herald (27 September 2024) and industry outlet IMI Daily (26 September 2024) highlights how complex paperwork, language barriers, and aggressive intermediaries can create fertile ground for deception, unless rigorous and independent due diligence is carried out. Terminology matters when we ask victims to come forward. In December 2024, INTERPOL formally urged the media and practitioners to avoid the stigmatising term ‘pig-butchering’, recommending more respectful terms such as ‘romance baiting’ or ‘investment scam’. The agency’s reasoning is practical: dehumanising labels make victims less likely to report quickly, which in turn weakens the evidential trail for banks and the police. This guidance appeared in back-to-back INTERPOL advisories on 16–17 December 2024 and has been echoed by the mainstream security press.

Finally, Europe’s cyber-fraud landscape continues to grow because criminals are industrialising their operations. The ENISA Threat Landscape 2025 (covering July 2024–June 2025) documents an evolving ecosystem in which scam infrastructure, phishing kits, and crime-as-a-service accelerate victim acquisition, and coordinated disruptions take down platforms, only for replacements to quickly emerge. For example, on 10 October 2025, Europol and five other countries dismantled ‘SIMCartel’, a SIM farm network tied to 50 million fake accounts used for smishing, investment lures, and social engineering on a large scale. This is evidence that many ‘individual’ frauds are in fact powered by wholesale identity and messaging factories.

For victims and advisors, this means that respectful, precise reporting leads to earlier disclosures, as noted by INTERPOL in December 2024. As shown by the Reuters/Europol cases in May–June 2025, money can still be traced when evidence is packaged correctly. Furthermore, as emphasised by ENISA in October 2025, industrialised scam tooling means that fast escalation with bank-grade documentation and cross-border filings is more important than ever. If any client experiences these patterns (fake broker, blocked withdrawals, ‘police’ calls or pressured ‘today-only’ property deals), treat it as an emergency. Preserve chats, invoices, wallet TXIDs and IBANs, file reports in the relevant EU jurisdiction(s) and engage a coordinator such as Regulated United Europe to structure a single evidential narrative that banks, platforms and the police can act on without delay.

Recent, real examples (for awareness)

Scammers are running large-scale, professional ‘investment’ and romance schemes across Europe. For example, on 30 June 2025, Spanish police and Europol shut down a crypto-investment network that allegedly laundered around €460 million. The group allegedly used shell companies, bank transfers, cash withdrawals and crypto exchanges spread across several countries to move the money. Five people were arrested in Madrid and the Canary Islands. This demonstrates the sophistication and cross-border nature of these scams.

Students and families are also being targeted by ‘cyber-kidnapping’. In a widely reported case in January 2024, for example, a 17-year-old Chinese exchange student named Kai Zhuang was found alive in the Utah wilderness after scammers had pressured his family to pay $80,000 and convinced him to hide. The police and multiple news outlets explained how the fraudsters had impersonated the authorities and controlled the victim through fear and secrecy. The key lesson is that if someone claiming to be ‘police’ or ‘consulate’ tells you to isolate yourself and not speak to anyone, that’s a red flag – call the real police and a trusted advisor immediately.

Property and immigration promises can be risky, too. In September 2024, Greece’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority opened investigations into suspected golden-visa property scams. Reports describe inflated prices, the repeated resale of the same units and aggressive marketing to foreign buyers, including Chinese nationals. If a deal is ‘today only’ or an agent refuses independent checks, slow down and verify everything with a separate lawyer or adviser.

The broader picture: Europe’s cyber agencies say that fraud is now industrialised. Scam groups use large SIM farm networks, fake accounts and ready-made toolkits. In October 2025, Europol’s Operation SIMCARTEL seized around 1,200 SIM boxes and 40,000 SIM cards that powered tens of millions of fake accounts used for investment scams, fake customer support and more. ENISA’s Threat Landscape 2025 also highlights how criminals are scaling up with automation and AI. This is why it is crucial to report incidents quickly and provide clean evidence, such as screenshots, chat exports, bank/EMI statements and wallet addresses, to help the authorities take action.

If any of the following sounds familiar – an online ‘advisor’ who encourages you to use a special app; a platform that shows large ‘profits’ but blocks withdrawals; a ‘police’ caller who demands secrecy; or a property/visa offer that cannot be verified – treat it as an emergency. Stop payments, save all proof and get help fast. Regulated United Europe can package your evidence for banks, payment providers and the police, file reports in the relevant EU country and coordinate tracing or civil action, so you won’t be alone and won’t lose more money to fake ‘recovery’ services.

If you think you have been deceived, act now!

Time matters. Within the first 24–72 hours, banks, EMIs, card schemes, marketplaces and exchanges may still be able to flag or freeze funds. Your goal is to create a clean, credible record and trigger the right procedures quickly, without alerting the scammer or contaminating evidence.

1) Preserve evidence (do this first).

Save everything in its original form. Export full chat logs (WeChat, WhatsApp, Telegram), emails (as .eml or .msg files with headers), call records and app notifications. Take screenshots of dashboards showing deposits, ‘profits’, or error messages, but also make sure you capture the URL, date/time, and your device clock in the same image. For cryptocurrency, copy TXIDs, wallet addresses, the network used (e.g. Ethereum or Tron), the amounts involved and the timestamps. For bank/EMI payments, download PDF statements and payment confirmations showing the IBAN, BIC, beneficiary name, reference and timestamps. If there were any screen shares or voice calls, make a note of the dates, caller IDs and the platform used. Keep files in a new folder named ‘Incident_YYYYMMDD’ and avoid altering the originals – create copies for annotation. This protects the metadata (time, origin and device) that investigators need.

2) Stop transfers immediately.

Log out of the scam app or site. Do not send ‘verification fees’, ‘taxes’, or ‘unlock charges’. If your bank allows it, freeze cards within your app and suspend EMIs (e.g. Revolut, Wise) via their safety controls. Change your passwords for email, banking and any other services that the scammers might know. Enable two-factor authentication using an authenticator app rather than SMS if possible. If the fraud involved remote-control software such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer, uninstall it and restart your phone or PC. Consider running a basic malware scan.

3) Contact your bank, EMI or payment provider in writing on the same day.

Use the secure chat or email function in your banking app/website. State clearly:

‘I am the victim of fraud. Please flag the transactions below as unauthorised/induced by deception and start recall/freeze procedures.’
List each payment, including the date, time (including time zone), amount, currency, IBAN/BIC or merchant/acquirer details, reference and reason (‘investment platform scam’, ‘romance-investment scam’, ‘fake brokerage’ or ‘property visa scam’).
Attach any relevant evidence (e.g. screenshots, PDFs or TXIDs) and request a case or ticket number.
Ask for written confirmation that they have contacted the beneficiary bank (for SEPA payments) or the acquirer (for card payments), and request updates on responses and time limits.

For card payments, enquire about chargebacks and the relevant reason code (e.g. ‘services not provided/fraud’). For SEPA transfers, request an urgent recall and confirmation that the beneficiary bank has been alerted. For EMI-to-EMI payments, request a scheme dispute and an account freeze review at the counterparty institution.

4) Report to the police in the relevant jurisdictions within 24 hours.

File a report where you are currently located and, if different, where the payment service or platform is based. Ask for a crime reference number. Provide the following information: identity details; your EU address (if applicable); all payment data (IBANs, TXIDs); platform URLs; app names; phone numbers; and a concise timeline. If your English is limited, draft the chronology in Chinese and include a short English summary with dates and amounts, and attach your evidence list. Keep the receipt for your report – banks and platforms often require it to proceed with freezes or disclosures.

5) Document the counterparties you paid.

Create a one-page sheet listing every destination of your funds.

Bank transfers: Beneficiary name, IBAN, BIC, bank name and payment reference.
Cards: Merchant name, acquiring bank (if known) and PSP or gateway.
Crypto: From/to addresses, TXIDs, network, block explorer links and exact UTC time. Gas/fees.
Platforms: Login email/ID, referral code, account number.
This sheet forms the basis for bank notices, exchange abuse reports and police requests.

6) Notify the relevant platforms and exchanges on the same day.

If you sent cryptocurrency, open a compliance/abuse ticket at the receiving exchange or service. Include your TXIDs, addresses, dates and times, and your police reference number once you have it. For marketplace or social platforms where the scammer contacted you, file an in-app report and attach your evidence. Be factual and concise, and do not accuse specific employees or reveal sensitive data beyond what is necessary.

7) Never pay ‘recovery’ fees.

Secondary scams target victims again with claims such as ‘we can unlock your funds’, ‘we are from the regulator’, or ‘we recovered your crypto but need a tax’. No legitimate bank, regulator or police unit will ask for money to release funds. Treat any ‘recovery agent’ who contacts you first as high risk. If in doubt, consult your bank or the local police before proceeding.

8) Protect your identity and accounts.

Assume that basic personal data may have been exposed. Change your passwords and rotate your API keys if you have used any trading services. Review your email forwarding rules as attackers may add hidden forwards. Check for new devices that have logged into your accounts. Consider taking out credit monitoring/identity theft alerts in your current country of residence if they are available.

9) Keep a running timeline.

Start a simple document:

2025-11-10 09:20 – First contact on WeChat (ID…).
12/11/2025, 14:05 – €4,200 sent via SEPA to IBAN … (Bank …).
12/11/2025, 14:12 – Crypto 1.8 ETH to 0x… (TXID…).
Update it after each action (e.g. bank notice sent, police report filed, exchange ticket number). This timeline enables banks, EMIs and the police to act faster and reduces the number of repeated questions.

10) What realistic outcomes can be expected?

SEPA/card/EMI: early recalls and chargebacks sometimes succeed, especially within hours or days. Not guaranteed.
Crypto: On-chain funds are difficult to reverse, but freezing them at exchanges is possible if you act quickly and provide substantial evidence.
Law enforcement: Investigations take time, but providing solid evidence increases the chance that your case will be linked to broader actions.

How Regulated United Europe (RUE) assists victims from China

RUE acts as an EU-based coordinator, turning a confusing and emotional situation into an organised response that banks, payment providers, platforms and the police can use immediately. The Regulated United Europe team begins with rapid case triage: a short call or written brief establishes what happened, which rails were used (SEPA, card, EMI or crypto), the amounts and dates involved and which jurisdictions are affected. The team then builds a single evidence pack containing screenshots with visible URLs and timestamps, exported chat logs (WeChat, WhatsApp and Telegram), emails in their original format with headers, PDF statements, SEPA references, card descriptors, wallet addresses and TXIDs. These are arranged in a clean timeline so that every payment, message and login can be traced. All files are preserved in a way that keeps metadata intact. If needed, the team can provide instructions for basic device hygiene, such as removing remote-control apps, changing passwords and enabling two-factor authentication, without contaminating evidence. With all the facts and proof in one place, Regulated United Europe can draft precise notices for your bank and EMI to trigger recalls, chargebacks, acquirer contacts or beneficiary-bank alerts. They can also prepare abuse reports for exchanges and platforms that include the correct identifiers, such as address/transaction hashes, merchant IDs, ticket numbers and police references. The wording and structure of the notices are crucial, so they explicitly state that you are a victim of fraud, list each disputed transaction with UTC times and references, request freeze/recall procedures and ask for written confirmation and case IDs. This level of clarity is often what prompts front-line teams to escalate promptly.

In parallel, Regulated United Europe‘s team aligns police reporting across the correct EU jurisdictions, ensuring your case receives a crime reference number quickly and providing providers with legal cover to act. Where appropriate, RUE coordinates with local counsel to prepare targeted civil steps, such as applications for disclosure orders (for example, in common law jurisdictions) to identify account owners at banks or exchanges, or urgent injunctions when there is a realistic chance of freezing. When cryptocurrency is involved, Regulated United Europe engages specialist investigators to map on-chain flows to known services and potential off-ramps. While tracing is not recovery in itself, an exchange will only consider flags or freezes when the submission is coherent and evidentially sound. For card payments, the team aligns your evidence with the reason codes used by card schemes, issuers and acquirers. For SEPA transfers, the team prepares recall requests and beneficiary bank notifications containing all the mandatory data elements. For EMI-to-EMI transfers, the team escalates through the dispute paths and compliance desks used by those providers internally. If scammers used a marketplace or social platform to contact you, RUE will file detailed in-app reports and send parallel notices to the platform’s trust and safety teams. This will minimise the risk of your account being closed as a ‘high-risk victim’ and maximise the odds of content being taken down or data being preserved.

Victims often face secondary risks, such as account closures, frozen legitimate funds or banking ‘de-risking’, because their profile suddenly looks suspicious. Regulated United Europe mitigates these risks by providing banks and EMIs with a comprehensive cover letter that details what happened, includes the police reference and demonstrates the internal controls adopted since the incident, such as password resets, two-factor authentication (2FA), device clean-up, new approval rules and vendor blacklists. This helps to keep your everyday accounts open and prevents automated blocks that would otherwise cause further financial stress. If scammers induced you to pay additional ‘unlock fees’, ‘taxes’ or ‘recovery charges’, the team will document these payments separately so that providers can recognise the pattern of coercion and investigators can link your case to larger files already in progress. In cases of immigration/property or ‘agency’ fraud, Regulated United Europe compiles the contract trail, escrow or ‘reservation’ receipts, listing links and the names and registrations of any intermediaries. This bundle is formatted so that consumer protection bodies, AML authorities or real estate registries can process it without requiring further clarification.

If a civil or negotiated outcome becomes possible, such as a partial refund from a payment provider, platform credit or release of auto-flagged funds, the Regulated United Europe team handles correspondence and proposes practical settlement mechanics that actually work, for example refunds to the original instrument rather than to a new account that the scammers could claim. Every communication is recorded and added to the timeline so that, when multiple institutions respond in parallel, nothing is lost. For cases with realistic prospects of recovery, RUE works with counsel to balance speed and cost. Some steps require quick freezes and voluntary disclosures, while others necessitate formal filings. The team clearly explains these options, including the evidence standard, expected timeframe and what success looks like in each case. Throughout the process, Regulated United Europe communicates in Mandarin and English, keeps instructions simple and focuses on actions that make a difference within the crucial first 24–72 hours, while also laying the groundwork for slower processes such as police investigations or civil claims.

Following the immediate crisis, Regulated United Europe assists you in strengthening your profile to prevent the recurrence of similar patterns. This includes drafting an internal policy for payment approvals (dual control for transfers above a certain amount, and cooling-off periods for unsolicited ‘investment’ pitches), creating a vendor due diligence checklist, implementing basic KYT (know your transaction) checks on high-risk transfers and updating your KYC/KYB documents, so that banks and EMIs will see you as a stable, low-risk customer going forward. If you were affected by a scam involving your business (for example, if a startup’s merchant account was abused), RUE can prepare a bank-grade assurance pack detailing new controls, complaint handling and monitoring. This is the kind of material that acquirers and marketplaces look for before they resume normal settlement. If the incident has impacted your reputation with partners or customers, the team will draft short, factual statements that you can share to acknowledge the event without disclosing sensitive details, demonstrate responsibility, and reduce speculation.

The goal in every case is to stabilise the situation quickly, present an unimpeachable evidential record and coordinate credible next steps across borders, enabling institutions to take action. While no advisor can promise recovery, early, structured intervention can dramatically improve outcomes. Recalls and chargebacks will be attempted on time, exchanges will receive complete TXID sets with police references, banks will understand that you are a victim rather than a risk, and investigators will be able to link your materials to ongoing cases. If you or your clients have fallen victim to fraud in Europe, send a concise summary of the incident (including amounts, dates, rails used and countries involved) to [email protected]. The Regulated United Europe team will respond immediately with a checklist and a tailored action plan, and will take care of everything, so you won’t have to navigate cross-border fraud alone, lose more time or pay “recovery fees” to scammers a second time.