China grandma drains life savings on US$450,000 beauty fraud before daughter discovers it
Por Fran Lu — South China Morning Post – News feed
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Salon charged 10 to 20 times the market rate; a single multi-procedure lip tattooing session cost a staggering US$6,000
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Fran Lu in Beijing Published: 9:23am, 14 Sep 2026
A 75-year-old woman from Shanghai spent three million yuan (US$450,000) on beauty treatments in a salon, completely depleting her retirement savings before her daughter uncovered the situation.
The elderly woman’s daughter recently sought assistance from a Shanghai television programme after discovering that her mother had exhausted all her savings on beauty services.
The woman, surnamed Yu, had spent her savings at a branch of Yongqi Beauty and Hairdressing Company, as well as a medical beauty institution associated with Yongqi, dating back to 2016.
Yu revealed that the beauty treatments she bought included skin tightening procedures, thread lifting, and meridian massage.
Billing details obtained by Yu’s daughter from the two establishments indicated that Yu also underwent eyebrow and lip tattooing procedures at the salon.
What raised concerns was the fact that the charges for these services were 10 to 20 times higher than the market rates. For example, a multi-procedure lip tattooing session was priced at 39,800 yuan (US$6,000).
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