Lured by the prospect of marrying a Westerner and living a comfortable life overseas, 39-year-old Liu Qian (not her real name) sold everything she had, only to harvest tears.

In 2005, Liu's Chinese husband dumped her and their young son and moved into a new pair of sheets. Liu became so desperate that she almost contemplated suicide but held back only because of her 5-year-old boy.

Just as she was reconciling with her failed marriage, she saw an advertisement making tall claims of facilitating successful marriages with well-heeled foreigners.

When she first saw this ad in 2006, she was suddenly filled with hope. She sold her minibus, her only source of income, and paid 24,000 yuan ($3,500) to the Jilin Yiguanglian marriage agency, to become a member.

Some days later, Qiao Chunxian, manager of the agency, brought her some letters which she claimed had been mailed from foreign countries to Liu. "Qiao said a foreigner had shown great interest in me, and was going to visit China in August, 2007," Liu recalls.

However, after waiting for more than half a year, the only news she got from Qiao was he had lost contact with the foreigner.

The agency attributed his disappearance to Liu's looks.

"Qiao suggested that I undergo cosmetic surgery. I followed her advice and spent more than 10,000 yuan on the operation. I did look better than before but Qiao still could not put me in touch with the foreigner," Liu says.

Qiao then began coming up with all kinds of strange excuses such as Westerners do not like women with children and that the feng shui of Liu's house is bad.

Liu swallowed all this as she was desperately holding on to the possibility of marrying a man from the West.

But more than a year passed and Liu had still not set on her eyes on her prince charming.

It was only when she met several women like her asking for refunds at the marriage agency, that she realized it was all a scam.

"I was devastated and just kept crying," she says.

Liu's experience is a bitter example of the growing number of marriages between Chinese and Westerners as China opens up to the world. Inter-cultural marriages, once never heard of in China, are mushrooming across the country.

Dreaming of an affluent life in the West, not only young Chinese girls, but also middle-aged women, are jumping on to the mixed marriage bandwagon without a second thought.

However, they often have little knowledge of foreign countries or of their language, and this can cost them dearly.

Li Li (not her real name) in her 40s is another victim of the Yiguanglian agency. She paid 20,000 yuan to become a member. The agency agreed to arrange a foreign mate for her, but wanted Li to cover all his expenses in China.

Li agreed. And then the agency told her that pre-martial sex was common in the West and persuaded Li to sleep with the Westerner. Believing that the marriage would take place, Li agreed to this too.

One day, suddenly, the man disappeared and when Li went to the agency to enquire, she was shocked to see several women there asking for a refund. She was further horrified to learn that a few of those women had been hooked up with the same man.

More than 70 victims made a report to the police and after investigations, Qiao Chunxian was arrested in February, 2008.

Hu Chuanbin, a policeman from the Changchun Public Security Bureau, says that 94 women in the province have been scammed by the agency, with the oldest being 54 and the youngest, 20.

Most of the women were laid-off workers or farmers. Many had paid at least 20,000 yuan to the agency, which had reportedly raked in 2.5 million yuan in Jilin province alone.

According to the police, Qiao employed several translators to hunt for Westerners through some international networking websites.

Most of them were without a steady income, and some were even alcoholics.

As soon as the agency sensed a Westerner could be interested in a Chinese partner, it made him an irresistible offer such as a free trip and female company.

The Jilin agency was only one of the branches of the Yiguanglian Group.

With Guangzhou as its headquarter, Yiguanglian had established marriage agencies in more than 20 cities. In the past eight years, more than 1,000 women fell victim to the scam.

Last November, Yiguanglian Group chairman Qi Yaomin was sentenced to ten years in prison and a fine of 2 million yuan.

Middle-aged women are often an easy prey for such scams as they place security ahead of marital bliss, says Shi Qingpan, a marriage expert from the Beijing municipal lawyers' association.

"They usually shoulder a double burden - of their ageing parents and of their children. A divorce can affect them not only emotionally but also deal a real blow to their living conditions," he says.

"A divorce breaks their confidence, and many reach out for support."

Marrying a Westerner, they feel, is a guarantee of a comfortable life in the developed world, Shi says.

Ignorance is the No 1 culprit, says Zhang Weiping, lawyer from the Jilin Faxu Law Firm, adding "not a single agency arranging mixed marriages is legal in China."

According to Chinese law, no marriage agency is allowed to engage in international marriages.

"The whole thing is a hoax from beginning to the end," he says. "I wonder why the law enforcement department did not nip them (such agencies) in the bud."

As for Liu Qian, she still hopes she can get back her money.

"I am gradually recovering from the loss and hurt. My experience has definitely taught me not to rush into any marriage."