Taiwan grapples with growing investment scams

Taiwan is grappling with an increasingly serious scam problem, according to a new report that surveyed 25,000 people across the region has found. Conducted jointly by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, Gogolook and ScamAdviser, a Web site legitimacy checker, the report found that Taiwanese may have lost up to US$7.5 billion over the past 12 months. On average, Taiwanese each lost US$1,940 to scammers, equivalent to 1% of GDP in 2023.

Unsurprisingly, in addition to text messages, Facebook was found to be one of the main sources of scams. While the platform has been stagnant in the U.S. and Europe for a while now, it remains almost ubiquitous in Taiwan, even among younger users. That helps explain its prevalence in scams targeting Taiwanese, which mainly involve criminals pretending to be investment experts or analysts. The perpetrators lure victims to invest in or purchase bogus financial products, typically requesting the money be sent by bank transfer.

There have been several high-profile busts of scammers over the past year in Taiwan. On April 26, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office on Friday indicted 32 individuals, including a prominent lawyer, who are accused of defrauding almost NT$800 million (US$2.46 million) from their victims. The defendants allegedly persuaded investors to purchase large sums of worthless crypto coins such as MoChange Token, CSO, FITC, NFTC and BNAT, promising their victims lucrative returns. The defendants are also accused of laundering their ill-gotten proceeds, including through the purchase of real estate in Taiwan’s Yilan County. They also stashed large amounts of cash in different locations around Taipei City and New Taipei City.

Meanwhile, in late 2023, Taiwanese authorities arrested an individual surnamed Qiu suspected of laundering a record NT$10.4 billion (US$320 million) using digital assets. The case emerged from an investigation initiated last year into a bogus securities trading app. A probe led authorities to trace financial transactions, ultimately revealing Qiu’s alleged involvement in the scheme.

Scammers are also targeting migrant workers in Taiwan. A survey published in late September by Taipei Fubon Bank and the nonprofit One-Forty found that nearly 30% of migrant workers in Taiwan have been victims of financial fraud, with each person losing an average of NT$7,995 (US$251). This is a significant amount of money for the migrant workers, given their monthly salaries do not usually exceed US$800. The survey was conducted in June and July among migrant workers from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand.