Older Asian women targeted in 'blessing scams' are robbed of cash, heirlooms

At least five older Asian women in Chicago have recently been targets of "blessing" scams, losing tens of thousands of dollars and family heirlooms.

The thieves approached the women on the street, police said, and spoke to them in their native Cantonese. They would spin elaborate and well-rehearsed tales, claiming they were heading to visit a miracle doctor.

In some of the cases, the victims were told that they or a loved one were in danger and they needed to buy a blessing for their protection, police reports show.

Four of the five women were targeted in late August and another was robbed in May. They were robbed by middle-aged Asian women in Chinatown, Bridgeport and Armour Square. No one has been arrested.

"I was deeply disappointed to learn of this latest scam targeting our elderly community in the Chinatown area," 11th Ward Ald. Nicole Lee stated. "That this scam preys on the reverence our elders hold for rituals, and distorts cherished traditions for theft, is especially disheartening — and does not represent the values of our community."

These scams aren't isolated to Chicago. Older Chinese women were targeted and scammed out of thousands of dollars in San Francisco this year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Victims have also been targeted in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York, according to AARP.

Yonggang Xiao with the Coalition for A Better Chinese American Community said one of the victims told his organization what happened to her. She wanted to get her story out so the community would be aware of the scams, Xiao said.

The 75-year-old woman told Xiao she was leaving the food pantry near Holden School in Bridgeport on Aug. 26 when a woman approached her at the bus stop. The woman told her she was looking for the miracle doctor and asked if the victim knew how to find the doctor.

A second person later arrived, as if by chance, claiming to know the miracle doctor. Eventually, they told the woman her family would face a "life-threatening event" in three days, but the miracle doctor could help. The thieves instructed the woman not to tell anyone and to gather all the cash and valuables she had and bring them to the miracle doctor.

"They played into the vulnerability and loneliness of our seniors," said Grace Chan McKibben, executive director of the Coalition for A Better Chinese American Community. "What is devastating is the magnitude of the loss and the loss in trust these seniors have. They’re just walking and minding their own business and wanting to help someone who is lost."

Xiao also described the scams as culturally predatory. Some Chinese people, especially older ones, believe in superstitions and the supernatural abilities of a miracle doctor.

But the thieves took it beyond superstition, McKibben said.

"They targeted their vulnerability and psychologically manipulated them by threatening them and their families," she said.

The daughter of one of the other victims, who spoke anonymously out of fear for her family's safety, said her mom was robbed of her life savings of $30,000 in cash and $10,000 worth of gold jewelry that had been passed down through generations.

"This is worse than a robbery. A robbery on the street is all the money you have on you. These scammers know that seniors are the most vulnerable groups. And they take everything, all the jewelry and all the money," the daughter said.

Three middle-aged women approached her 72-year-old mom as she was on her way to the supermarket. At first, they told her in Cantonese that they needed money for their religious efforts. Then they tried to scare her by telling her something bad was going to happen to her son.

The scam artists followed her back to her apartment where they had her put all her money and jewelry in a bag. They prayed over the bag to "make the bad spirits go away," her daughter said. At some point, the thieves had swapped the bags with the money and jewelry.

The woman, realizing what had happened, called her daughter, and she immediately took her mother to the police. Her daughter also went and gathered security footage from the supermarket and near her mom's apartment.

"They did it in public and got away with it," she said. "And they haven’t been arrested, so they are able to do it again and again and again."

She worries about the mental well-being of her mother and the other victims.

"My mom looks so sad; I don't know how to comfort her," she said. "This is going to kill them slowly, to take everything from them. The depression, the guilt. It's a slow and painful death.

"Where is the justice?"