Expats urged to be alert as telecom scams rise
Shanghai Daily, November 18, 2013
Following a series of telecom-related scams which have also targeted expatriates, overseas Chinese and gold-collar workers, police are advising people to be alert while also launching a campaign against scammers.
Last week, two expatriates from the Pudong New Area were swindled out of 24 million yuan (US$3.9 million). One of them lost more than 19.9 million yuan within a week, making it the largest scam case in Shanghai in recent years.
Swindlers previously targeted seniors or those with low education background who were easy prey. But off late, they have turned their attention to expats and Chinese returnees as most of them do not have a good understanding of the Chinese law.
Managers and company executives are also being marked out as they are usually confident about their judgment. They have their own circle and have been generally unaffected by scams till date.
In the recent case, the expatriate told the Pudong police that a swindler claiming to be a Shenzhen Telecom staff told her that a number registered in her name had logged up a huge bill for making international calls. Next, she got a call from a man claiming to be from Guangzhou police, who told her a bank account that was registered in her name was involved in illegal money transfers. She followed the “policeman’s” advise and transferred 19.9 million yuan into a “safe account.”
Fake numbers
With the help of software, swindlers can decide what numbers to show to the person they are making the call to. Police have warned that people should be alert when receiving calls and short messages from numbers that start from 400 -- usually used by big companies and banks and other social service departments.
The frauds include winning lotteries, unspecific transfer requests, unsecured loans, credit card overdrafts and extremely low price on products.
Police tips
Do not give away bank accounts and passwords easily. No matter how good their story sounds, swindlers will inevitably ask for bank card information. There are no such things as “safe accounts” and one should not transfer money into accounts provided by others. Public security bureau officials, if they need information, will do so face-to-face, instead of asking for accounts and passwords on the phone.
Telecom companies, commercial banks and social security system have separate working platforms. Be careful when a swindler claims he can help you contact police or asks you to transfer money into “safe accounts.”
Telecom companies send letters or reminders for delayed payments instead of making phone calls.
