Ghost Scams Targeting Elderly in Chinatowns

"The first reports of what have become known as blessing scams appeared in the Chinese media around the turn of the century. In 2002, there were more than eight hundred incidents in Hong Kong, leading the police to establish a dedicated task force. Investigators determined that the suspects were middle-aged women, working in crews of three or four, and that almost all of them came from southern coastal provinces...The scammers travelled first to Taiwan and other cities across Asia, and then to Chinese communities in the United States, Canada, and Australia." Here, these scammers use their language and cultural closeness to other Chinese people to swindle them out of their life savings. Victims are often too ashamed and embarrassed to come forward,  making these crimes difficult to police. Scammers use their knowledge of Chinese beliefs to trick victims into believing that their family members are in grave danger of death or entrapment by ghosts, and push them into giving up their valuables for "blessing" and protection. 

The author in this article interviews both victim and perpetrator, as well as investigators and police who work on similar crimes. Beliefs about ghosts are a staple of Chinese culture, with many aspects and rituals revolving around them. But it is not these superstitions that make people particularly vulnerable. People of all kinds of faiths are susceptible to a variety of scams, and traditions about  ghosts do hold value. "From a Western perspective, some of these religious practices might seem exotic, they often fulfill functions that are easily recognizable. Bereaved parents visiting a village shaman to arrange a ghost marriage for a deceased child might well experience a relief similar to that provided by grief counselling or psychoanalysis...“The point is that it gives the sufferer a sense of agency and an explanation that can be empowering.”"

It goes to show that scams are culturally contextual, and these scammers know how to leverage their own.