Chinese community helps Southampton student after £31k scam

University of Southampton student Chen lost £31,000 in the scam

Members of a Chinese community are fundraising to help a student who was scammed out of £31,000.

Chen, who attends the University of Southampton, said she lost the money in 2021 when she was called by fraudsters claiming to be police.

She said her mental health had deteriorated since then because she feared not being able to graduate.

The Chinese Association of Southampton said it wanted to "improve "her situation.

The 26-year-old masters student took on two part time jobs in order to pay off the debt after she was scammed in November 2021.

The fraudsters pretending to be from the Chinese government got hold of her confidential information, including her passport number and home address in China.

'Very desperate'

In a fake call from someone posing as a Shanghai police officer, she was told she was suspected of being part of a money laundering scheme and ordered to send money to the government to check her financial resources. It was never returned.

"I feel stupid... I don't know why I got scammed," Chen said.

"Last year [was] very hard and full of depression… and I feel very desperate.

"My parents tried to help me with my financial problems but their property can't sell because Chinese economy is low... so they can't help me much."

Her student visa runs out at the end of January and without raising about £14,000 to pay off her tuition fees she cannot obtain her masters certificate.

She said she feared that could hinder her job prospects on her return to China, where she was also concerned her depression would not be recognised as a serious condition.

Michael Ng said the Chinese Association of Southampton wanted to help Chen in her plight

Chen had approached the Southampton Chinese Association when the initial scam happened and the group has now set up a fundraising appeal.

Michael Ng, chair of the Southampton Chinese Association, said: "When you hear about scams you don't really feel it until it happens to one of your own community.

"When Chen came and asked for help - then you feel it, the impact is really quite big.

"We realised there are more issues which we didn't expect, like her mental health - it is going to impact her whole life."

The university said it could not comment on individual cases.

However, in a statement it added: "We provide specialist support for the individual affected, including for their long-term wellbeing.

"We are working hard to find new ways of helping our students to identify if they are being targeted by a scam and what to do if this happens, as well as helping our staff to spot those at risk."

Last year saw a number of scams targeting Chinese students. Sussex Police said it dealt with three similar cases in 2022.

Also, in September 2021, Liverpool University issued a fraud warning following reports of scammers targeting mainly Chinese students.