In recent days, the dark industry chain of cross-border marriage scam in China has been exposed. Some single men are lured by advertisements such as “Marry a Vietnamese or Burmese bride for just tens of thousands of yuan”, and after paying a high fee, they briefly live together with foreign women. Once the women gain trust, they gradually cut off contact. Investigations have shown that behind these advertisements is not a normal matchmaking service, but rather a grey chain involving illegal immigration, false blind dates, and repeated extortion of fees.
Multiple mainland Chinese media outlets have reported that these scams are promoted through online ads offering “affordable Vietnamese or Burmese brides” to attract single men, promising quick arrangements for blind dates, marriage, and even having children, with fees usually ranging between 128,000 and 198,000 RMB. These advertisements are specifically targeted at individuals with urgent romantic needs.
According to reports, this operation has developed into a more comprehensive chain: overseas personnel are responsible for recruiting women and organizing their entry into China, while domestic intermediaries are responsible for attracting customers, arranging meetings, and collecting fees. They then complete the so-called “blind dates” through transfer and concealment methods. After the “marriage relationship” is established, foreign women often briefly cohabit with the men before seizing the opportunity to leave, leaving the men bereft of both money and love.
In Heqing Town, Lengshuijiang City, Hunan Province, a seemingly normal street-front matchmaking agency has been identified as a hub for these activities. Reports suggest that the operator of this agency, Xiao Moyu, has been cooperating with a Burmese man nicknamed “Lao Tou” since May 2025. The latter is responsible for recruiting women abroad and organizing their entry into China, while the former attracts single men, collects fees, and arranges meetings domestically. Upon the entry of relevant personnel, they are housed collectively, and when there is a demand for blind dates, they are brought out to meet, briefly cohabit, and then promptly leave.
A cross-border dark chain is gradually becoming clear: overseas recruiters → entry organization → domestic customer solicitation → transfer and concealment → fee-based blind dates → subsequent disappearance.
Statements from foreign individuals involved in the case indicate that their purpose in coming to China was solely to obtain fees through marriage. Another practitioner has introduced that women from different countries are mobilized in various ways, some through illegal entry and others through the fabrication of documents to obtain visas.
Law enforcement officials have stated in public reports that such cases exhibit characteristics of being “chained, cross-border, and repetitive offenses”, where individuals are deceived once, moved to another location, and then continually exploited.
Public information also reveals that similar “cross-border matchmaking” services have been increasingly common in certain regions in recent years, causing economic losses to some participants who naively believed in the promotion of “low-cost rapid marriage”.