Part 2 of 3. Part 1 here
The Manipulation
It is cruel, but not surprising, that the most romantically attached are also the most financially devasted.
21% responded NOT AT ALL. Their scammer played a "younger sister", "younger brother", "financial mentor", "life coach", etc. However, all are cultivated long-term, personal relationships with the victim -- hallmark of Shazhupan.
Women were not much more susceptible to being manipulated by intense romantic feelings, considering that in 67% of the victim respondents are women.
Yes, GREED plays a role, but it is interesting that 7% reported NOT being motivated for personal profit.
81% reported giving in to the "investment" because they were thinking of others' welfare, aside from or rather than their own. This includes children's education, family, medical expenses for a relative, etc.
What are the other motivations?
Below is from a lawyer and separated mother of two who was squeezed out of $2.5 million. (The scammers knew of her terminal cancer.) You may hear more from her later.
Sextortion
In a few cases victims kept paying into the sham platform because of threats by their relationship scammer to leak photos of their nudes (under pretexts like that the victim has to still pay them "back" for investments they lost, or no pretext at all).
WOMEN were the most cajoled and pressured into sending intimate photos, often for their first times. And hence we see that it is WOMEN who were overwhelmingly sextorted in ShaZhuPan.
The Aftermath
Many victims dare not to tell others that they fell hard on ShaZhuPan, unless they are forced to by friends and family they owe money to. Keeping embarrassing secrets is a source of stress, especially if one constantly has to hide it.
56% had suicidal thoughts in the immediate aftermath, with 9% very seriously or attempted to, including slit wrist, drug overdose, and other self-inflicted harms requiring hospitalization. If this is representative, in 1000 victims 90 came close to killing themselves. Outside of China, we have already heard of a couple of suicides attributed to the scam.
What would push victims over the edge? Among the worst stories we've heard are of victims realizing that they could be working to pay off their debts for the rest of their lives, victims losing their jobs, and scammers following through with sending sextorted pictures and videos to the victims' family and workplace. See one story, this, or this.