He never says, "How could you be so dumb?" Instead, he says, "Anyone would trust someone who makes them feel seen." He'll help them check the scammer's "identity", call the bank to request freezing funds, and even just sit with them while they cry.

"Sometimes, they just need to talk about how stupid they feel," he said. "I tell them: 'Scammers spend years practicing this. You didn't stand a chance — but you do now.'"

His most memorable case involved a retired 70-year-old teacher who fell for a fake investment scam. Too ashamed to admit her mistake, she avoided police calls until she rushed to the station, injuring her leg in the process.

"She'd dedicated her life to educating others and couldn't bear the thought of being seen as a fool," Xing said. After verifying the scam and helping her secure her funds, the woman hugged him and said, "You saved me from drowning in shame." That moment reinforced Xing's belief that emotional support is as crucial as financial recovery.

Over the years, Xing has persuaded over 1,000 potential victims, recovering tens of millions of yuan. He said there is a stark gender divide in his work: while men and women are scammed in roughly equal numbers, women are harder to persuade because their scams are often emotionally rooted. Men, by contrast, tend to fall for quick-money schemes and respond better to logical arguments.

These days, Xing's job is getting harder — scammers are using artificial intelligence to make fake voices and deepfakes to pretend to be family members. But he's not backing down. He's on platforms such as Douyin, making short videos about scams, visiting communities to give talks, and even texting former victims to check in. "Scammers use technology," he said. "But we have something they don't — human connection."

He advocates a holistic approach to anti-fraud: stricter law enforcement, widespread public education, and more community support for victims. "Scams thrive on isolation," Xing said. "If families talk more, if communities care more, we can cut off scammers' access to people's hearts."

yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn