A Sydney mum was looking for love after her 11-year marriage fell apart. What followed was a bizarre ordeal that would cost her tens of thousands and leave her heartbroken.

“Pleasure to connect with you. Stunning pics btw”

It was a simple eight-word message on dating app Bumble that single mum Jaixi ‘Sissi’ Wang hoped would be from the man of her dreams.

“I want to warn single women out there looking for relationships — just be careful,” Ms Wang, 40, told news.com.au.

“Scammers use anything and everything to gain your trust for your money, including their own children.”

Recently separated from the father of her two children, then aged 39 and wanting to get into the dating market, the Sydney-based baby photographer and content creator had started a social media presence early in 2025 to document her journey for love.

She was looking for, as the meme goes, a “man in finance, trust fund, six-five” — a Westerner with blue eyes, “muscular”, who was also divorced with kids.

At first, her new Bumble flame seemed to tick nearly all of those boxes.

Sissi Wang, 40, alleges she was the victim of a romance scam. Picture: YouTube
“He was in finance, six-two, without blue eyes but he has a trust fund — and he has two children,” Ms Wang said in a viral video last week.

“Fifty years old, more than 10 years older than me. I wanted someone mature in age.”

Ms Wang said she had “almost no dating experience at that time” and approached the situation with caution.

The pair went on three dates together, where her new lover treated her to expensive meals. He “respected me” and was “very generous”, even introducing her to his children.

Ms Wang said they discussed being in a serious long-term relationship and wanted their children to live together.

The young mum had recently separated and was looking for love. Picture: Instagram
After their initial dates, however, he seemed to be “always busy” with work, family and religious commitments, but continued bombarding Ms Wang with romantic messages for months.

“He would say good morning to me every morning, sometimes good night at night, and ask me how I’m doing at noon,” she said.

Text messages seen by news.com.au show the businessman showering Ms Wang with love hearts and kissy face emojis, sharing pictures of his children and showing off his apparent high-flying lifestyle with expensive watches and “boardroom” views from Barangaroo.

According to Ms Wang, it was three months after they first met that her new lover asked her for money.

He proposed an “investment project”, asking her to invest $30,000 with the promise of a 33 per cent return.

Ms Wang initially refused, thinking the request was odd given he held himself out being wealthy.

Three months after meeting he asked her for money. Picture: YouTube
“I like to keep money and dating separate — at least until more trust being built up, if it’s OK with you?” she wrote in one WhatsApp message.

“Babe it’s up to you as I offered this to you because I trust you and really like you and want to make money together,” he replied. “You can trust me!”

In another he said, “Think we can make a good fortune together that’s why I’m offering you as I like you and feel comfortable/trust with you babe … Once done let’s head off overseas together as a bonus for our deal on me babe.”

After a month of pressure, Ms Wang finally relented, reasoning he may be in a difficult situation.

He promised a 33 per cent return. Picture: YouTube
Transaction records seen by news.com.au show Ms Wang sent the man a total of $30,325 in four instalments over a period of weeks last May and June.

He repeatedly assured her that he would be sending her back her “investment” plus interest to the tune of $50,000, but the money never came despite months of waiting and false transaction receipts.

One seemingly doctored screenshot sent to Ms Wang purported to show another person explaining to the businessman why the transfer had been unsuccessful.

The message said the money “has been withdrawal [sic] and released I will have a trace on this trail to see what’s caused delay on funding exit side … apologies as I need to audit the trail”.

She paid him more than $30,000. Picture: YouTube
Finally realising she had apparently been scammed, Ms Wang reported the matter to Eastwood Police Station on October 23.

In February, after she threatened to tell the story on her social media, he sent Ms Wang a letter purportedly from his lawyers.

A legal threat to Ms Wang. Picture: YouTube
“Please immediately refrain from slandering my client as a form of deformation [sic] and deformation of character as well false accusations, attempt to tarnish reputation by way of contact without consent and making false statements about my client to date onto others with any no [sic] consent or authority,” it read.

“Effective immediately all needs to cease and further correspondence will be remitted according and outlined to be attached too [sic] yourself, as further action will be put in place in need/measures.”

Ms Wang says the experience has left her “heartbroken” and distrustful of dating after her 11-year marriage.

“Maybe I’m too naive,” she said in her video. “I thought I had carefully selected, I set so many boundaries for myself, but I still met a scammer.”

A former employer of the man, who asked for his company not to be identified, told news.com.au, “Nothing would surprise me with him. He’s one of the worst people I’ve met and I’m glad I have nothing to do with him anymore.”

Ms Wang reported the matter to police. Picture: YouTube
Multiple attempts to reach the businessman by phone on Thursday were unsuccessful.

He instead told news.com.au via text message that he was “about to have surgery” and “I will call you tomorrow”.

He did not reply to specific questions seeking a response to Ms Wang’s allegations, or whether he intended to repay her the $30,000.

The man said it was “deformation [sic] of character” and “we will seek damages accordingly as I have n [sic] idea what you are on about”.

“We have no idea about allegations or what you referring to etc.,” he wrote. “Once we ascertain this all has will [sic] actioned appropriately as we will not take this lightly.”

NSW Police confirmed that in March this year, “officers attached to Kings Cross Police Area Command commenced an investigation following reports of an alleged online scam in West Pennant Hills area”.

“Police were told a 40-year-old woman transferred cash to a man she met online between May 2025 and June 2025,” a spokesman said.

“As inquiries continue, anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. There are resources online endorsed by NSW Police regarding romance scams.”

No charges have been laid.

“They did some investigation but there’s no solid evidence to lock him up,” Ms Wang told news.com.au.

The promised $50,000 never came. Picture: YouTube
Ms Wang alleges she was the victim of a common romance scam known as “pig butchering” — a reference to the victim being ‘fattened-up’ before slaughter.

“Scammers use romance or friendship grooming over a long period of time to gain trust before attempting to convince the target to invest in the stock market, cryptocurrencies, or foreign currency,” the NSW government scam website says.

“Scammers demonstrate their lavish lifestyles and discuss their bank or crypto balances throughout months of friendship in the hope of being asked for advice or tips on how they too can generate such wealth.

“The scammer will guide them to invest in their scam, which may appear to look legitimate. After investing, the victim may receive fake balances in apps, websites, or statements showing their money’s growth, which often encourages the victim to invest more money.”

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) received 3432 reports of romance scams last year through its ScamWatch portal with $28.7 million in losses.

Since 2020, there have been 21,119 reports of romance scams totalling $222.4 million in losses.

Women made up the majority (64 per cent) of victims, and while most (70 per cent) occur online, Ms Wang’s experience highlights the risk even when meeting potential romantic partners face-to-face.

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“Scammers often go after people who want connection or support online,” ScamWatch says.

“You may be at higher risk if you use dating apps or social media to meet new people … are newly single, have recently lost someone close, or are going through a big life change … feel lonely and want ongoing contact … [or] have money set aside to invest (including in cryptocurrency).”