Cover image via 163.com
Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for the latest stories and breaking news.
Technology has a funny way of making the impossible feel tangible, but for China-based fashion influencer Chen Xin, it turned her life into a digital house of mirrors
Chen, known online as @Daxin-kissis, recently discovered that her personal assistant of six years, a woman surnamed Jiang, had allegedly been living a double life as a wealthy Harvard Medical School student.
Taking to social media, Chen said the charade began two and a half years ago. Jiang allegedly used her employer's passwords to enter her home, helped herself to Chen's luxury wardrobe — including stockings, pyjamas, and even a Rolex — and staged elaborate photoshoots to build a fraudulent persona on social media.
The most jarring part of the grift involves artificial intelligence.
Jiang reportedly took photographs that Chen had captured but never posted, then used AI to replace Chen's body with her own
This "beautified" version of Jiang was then presented to followers as a high-society intellectual living in the US, despite Jiang never having left Zhejiang province.
The deception worked. In January, Jiang held a live-stream focused on "intelligent woman's growth", which reportedly earned her 1.14 million yuan (RM650,000) in tips.
Chen only stumbled upon the account after a stranger messaged her, warning that someone was using her home as a backdrop for fake content.
Chen originally hired Jiang after the woman approached her as a fan, claiming she needed financial independence from her impoverished family
Out of compassion, Chen hired Jiang, who had only graduated from junior secondary school, and even taught her new media skills.
"I unreservedly taught Jiang skills," Chen said, adding that she even sent Jiang extra money last month after the assistant claimed her father had been injured in a fall.
When confronted, Jiang initially admitted she "did something wrong out of vanity", but she later reneged on her promise to apologise and return the fraudulent earnings
Chen has since issued a formal lawyer's letter to Jiang.
The allegations include the infringement of portrait rights, reputation, and privacy, alongside potential criminal charges for embezzlement and fraud.
The case has sent shockwaves through the Chinese Internet, with many comparing Jiang to the notorious con artist Anna Sorokin.
