Review of various new fraud methods in 2014
1. Posing as 10086 to send fraudulent text messages:
"Your points have reached the threshold to redeem a prize worth 326 yuan. Please log in to the XX website..." It was actually a scam website. On the afternoon of October 20, many citizens passing through the area of Xijiang Road in Liuzhou received a prize redemption text message sent from 10086 on their mobile phones. In fact, this was an outright fraudulent text message. Someone near Jimeijun on Xijiang Road was using a fake base station to impersonate 10086 and send scam messages, and the fake base station was hidden inside a car. Acting on the identification provided by the reporter, police officers searched a white car and seized a laptop and a transmitting device, and the three men in the car were taken into custody.
2. WeChat scams:
When you receive a WeChat message from a friend saying they lost their contacts and asking for your phone number, be cautious. If they then send you a text message asking for a verification code, pay close attention! This is likely a scammer who has stolen your friend’s account and is targeting your WeChat Pay. Many people have already fallen victim to this scam. If a WeChat friend asks to borrow money or requests your number, always confirm by calling them first.
3. Phone Scam：
According to a netizen named Shishiyu: Around 10 a.m., a call from a Guangxi Nanning mobile number came in, and the caller immediately said my full name, calling me "Comrade [Name]." They claimed to be from the Nanning Court, saying they had just cracked a drug trafficking case and found a batch of credit cards, one of which was a CGB credit card in my name. Since many people share the same name nationwide, they wanted to verify my ID number and information, asking for my cooperation. I asked why they were calling from a mobile phone, and they said it was for investigation convenience, claiming the mobile number was linked to the court's number.
I said, you claim to be a police officer, so what is your badge number? What is your name? The other party immediately got angry and said, I am the one asking the questions now, why do you have so many questions? I said, how do I know if you are real or fake? He said, would the police lie to you? I said, what if you are impersonating a police officer? Do you think I am a three-year-old child? He said, fine, if you refuse to cooperate and say nothing, I will have you arrested. I said, sure, come over and arrest me then. The other party angrily hung up the phone.
Police stated that criminal investigation procedures are very strict. If the police actually discover suspected criminal activity, they would not use voice calls to notify you, nor would they ask for personal information like bank card numbers, ID numbers, or home addresses over the phone. They remind citizens not to easily believe such voice messages or disclose personal information, and to report the situation to the police promptly.
4. Online shopping scams:
A friend of mine recently bought a watch online. He was quite satisfied when it arrived, but then he received a sales call. The caller said there was a pair of famous-brand watches available at an incredibly low price—he would only need to pay 398 yuan for shipping, and would also receive a 398 yuan rechargeable card, with cash on delivery. What a bargain! Sure, send it over and let me take a look! But he still couldn't escape the cruel reality. When the package arrived, he opened it and saw a pair of men's and women's watches. They looked decent on the outside, and there was also a 400 yuan phone card included. After inspecting the goods, he paid and signed for the delivery. Then he slowly tried on the watches—they turned out to be electronic watches! Probably worth only 30 to 50 yuan! And the rechargeable card? It actually led to a website embedded with a Trojan horse! Well, he'd been scammed.
Don't assume cash on delivery with personal inspection is safe. Many merchants exploit this consumer mindset—if you want cash on delivery, they'll give it to you, but there's a trick. So you end up signing and using it, and when problems arise, you can only blame yourself.
5. Phone intimidation scam:
Recently, a resident of Changzhou, Ms. Gao, received a phone call at home. The caller ID showed the number 059187621305. The man on the other end claimed to be a police officer from the Major Crimes Unit of the Fuzhou City Court in Fujian Province. He said that the police had discovered that a landline phone registered under Ms. Gao's name in Fuzhou earlier this year had an unpaid bill of 5,486 yuan. Furthermore, her bank account was suspected of providing assistance to a drug trafficking ring. The caller went on to say that the main suspect of the drug trafficking ring had already been apprehended. The drug trafficker confessed that the money laundering for drug trafficking was all conducted through Ms. Gao's bank account, involving more than 2 million yuan. Upon hearing this, Ms. Gao panicked and hurriedly explained that she had only graduated from university a few years ago and had saved less than 100,000 yuan, so this matter definitely had nothing to do with her.
The other party immediately reprimanded Ms. Gao not to harbor any illusions, stating that if she doubted his police identity, she could verify it by calling the local 114 directory in Fuzhou. Ms. Gao followed the instructions and dialed 0591114 to check, confirming that “059187621305” was indeed the phone number for the “Fuzhou Municipal Court.” Soon after, the other party called again to urge her, and Ms. Gao, no longer daring to doubt, hurriedly borrowed money from relatives and friends, scraping together 119,000 yuan and transferring it to the designated safe account, hoping the police would clarify the matter and return it in full. Three days later, Ms. Gao called to inquire about the progress of the case, but the other party’s phone had long been disconnected, and only then did she realize it was all a scam.
6. Social Security Subsidy Scam
Citizen Zhang Qiufeng suddenly received a text message from a number ending in 3271. The message informed Zhang Qiufeng that she was eligible to receive 4,780 yuan in social security funds. Upon receiving this text message, Zhang Qiufeng was overjoyed. However, when she called the Siping Social Security office to inquire about what kind of subsidy it was and how to claim it, she was told that it was actually a scam. On August 18, Liu reported to the police: at 11 a.m. on August 17, he received a text message from the number 10086020, stating that he had a social security subsidy available for collection and providing a social security phone number (1330543945X). Liu then followed the other party’s instructions and was defrauded of 1,650 yuan in cash through a transfer at an ATM.
7. Credit card limit increase scam:
A bank called to increase her credit card limit? At around 1:00 p.m. on October 16, Ms. Lu received a phone call from someone claiming to be a client manager at a bank's credit card center. The “client manager” told Ms. Lu that, based on her long record of good spending and repayment, the bank had decided to increase the credit limit on her credit card. However, before the credit limit could be raised, Ms. Lu needed to fill out an application form and deposit 20,000 yuan in cash into the card in advance. “The card was in my own hands, and the money was deposited into my own card, so I had no doubt at all about the safety of the call,” Ms. Lu said. She then filled in information such as her name, ID number, and mobile phone number on the website sent by the “client manager,” and then obediently deposited 20,000 yuan into her own credit card. “After the operation was completed, the manager called me again and asked me to provide the mobile phone dynamic password and the last three digits of the signature on the back of the bank card,” Ms. Lu said. The other party told her that this was the final step, and after that the credit limit increase would be successful. At around 3:00 p.m. that day, Ms. Lu received a text message alert. What she never expected was that what she received was not a message about the bank increasing her credit limit, but four credit card transaction notices. According to the alerts, a total of 17,342 yuan had been spent on Ms. Lu's card. Only then did Ms. Lu realize that she had encountered a scammer and hurried to the Chengbei Police Station to report the case.
8. Credit card security code scam:
"You are a premium customer and according to bank regulations, your credit limit can be increased, but you need to provide your bank card number, expiration date, and the three-digit CCV2 code on the back of the card." As a result, after the cardholder provided the information, not only was the credit limit not increased, but the card was maliciously used for fraudulent transactions. Recently, credit card scams under the guise of limit increases have quietly emerged, with some citizens falling victim and suffering losses totaling nearly 10,000 yuan. According to security experts from the Foshan Branch of Guangfa Bank, the three-digit code on the back of a credit card is actually the security code CCV2, a security code used for online or telephone transactions, and its importance is almost equivalent to that of a password. As long as this number and other information are obtained, even a non-cardholder can complete payments on certain payment platforms.
9. Website domain expiration scam:
Fraudsters exploit "domain name expiration renewal" to commit fraud. Recently, an assistant named Xiao Lu at a company in Guangzhou received a call from someone claiming to be from a certain network information technology company in Xiamen. The caller stated that the company's domain name was about to expire and would be deleted if not renewed promptly. Through corporate phone calls, emails, or faxes, they send domain name renewal notices, falsely claiming that the domain name will be deleted if not renewed upon expiration, and defraud fees under the guise of helping enterprises renew their domain names. They also commit fraud by claiming that "Chinese domain names are being cybersquatted and priority protection registration is needed." They impersonate staff members of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), notifying enterprises that their Chinese domain names must be registered and paid for within a few days, otherwise they will be cybersquatted by others, thereby defrauding them of money.
(Search Law)
