14-year-old girl loses $1,122 to scammers, told to send nude pics to pay off her 'debts'

The New Paper
May 4, 2023

A 14-year-old girl was scammed out of over $1,000 and asked to send nude photos of herself to pay off the “debts” she had incurred. 

The girl's father, Wu, 42, told Shin Min Daily News the scammers had contacted his daughter on April 28, promising her easy cash for completing tasks online.

"A person approached my daughter on Telegram asking her if she was looking for work," Wu explained.

"My daughter was thinking of earning some money to support the family, so she accepted. 

Shin Min reported that one of the "agents" identified herself as "Alice" and sent Wu's daughter a "job link".

The teen was instructed to register an account through the link, and told she could earn rewards by making deposits and completing tasks.

If she deposited $100 into the account, she would receive $10 as a reward, for example.

However, if she was unable to complete the tasks or make the necessary deposit within a specified time period, she would incur a penalty.

This penalty, she was informed, would double each time.

The teen began making the deposits, but soon the requested amounts increased and became unaffordable for her.

Lured by the easy rewards each time she made a deposit, the teen resorted to using funds from her mother's bank account.

The girl’s mother, Mrs Wu, said: "Even though my daughter had 'deposited' $1,122 in total, she was told the penalties incurred had increased from around $2,000 to more than $3,000.

"As such, she was told to repay her 'debts' of more than $1,000."

Later on, a man contacted her on Telegram, promising to pay off the penalties incurred if she would send him nude pictures of herself.

The girl did not comply, and instead, sent over nude photos found on the Internet.

Troubled by her situation, the teen confessed everything to her mother on May 1. 

"Around 10-plus at night, she came crying to me. She was trembling and her entire face was pale," Mrs Wu said. "I had never seen her in such a state."

Mrs Wu closed her bank account the next day and lodged a police report.

"Thankfully, she didn't send the (nude) pictures," her father told Shin Min.

"At least she is all right, and can take this as a lesson for the future.”