Reviewing various new types of fraud in 2014
1. Impersonating 10086 to send fraudulent text messages:
"Your points have reached the threshold for redeeming a 326 yuan prize. Please log in to XX website..." This is actually a scammer's website. On the afternoon of October 20, many citizens passing by Liuzhou Xijiang Road received a prize notification text from 10086 on their phones. In reality, this was a fraudulent message. Someone near Jimei County on Xijiang Road used a fake base station to impersonate 10086 and send scam texts, with the device hidden in a car. Under the informant's identification, police found a laptop and a transmitting device in a white car, and three men inside were detained.
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 further send you a text message asking for a verification code, be very careful! Because scammers may have stolen your friend's account and are targeting your WeChat Pay—many people have been scammed. If a WeChat friend asks to borrow money or requests a phone number, always call them first.
3. Phone Inquiry 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, "If you're a police officer, what's your badge number? What's your name?" The caller immediately got angry, saying, "I'm asking you questions, why are you asking so many?" I replied, "How do I know if you're real or fake?" They said, "Would the police lie?" I said, "What if you're impersonating the police? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?" They said, "Fine, if you don't cooperate, I'll have you arrested." I said, "Go ahead, come and arrest me." The caller hung up angrily.
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 Scam
A friend recently bought a watch online and was quite satisfied upon receiving it, but then got a sales call claiming there was a pair of famous watches at a very low price, requiring only a 398 yuan delivery fee, plus a 398 yuan recharge card, with cash on delivery—what a deal! Fine, send it over! But the harsh reality still caught up. After the delivery arrived, they opened it and saw a pair of men's and women's watches that looked decent, along with a 400 yuan phone card. After inspecting the goods, they paid and signed for it. Then they tried on the watches—turns out they were electronic watches, probably worth only 30-50 yuan! And the recharge card? It led to a Trojan website! Got 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 Ms. Gao from Changzhou received a call at home from number 059187621305. The man on the other end claimed to be a police officer from the Fuzhou City Court's major case unit, saying the police found that a landline phone Ms. Gao had registered in Fuzhou earlier this year was overdue by 5,486 yuan. Moreover, her bank account was suspected of aiding a drug trafficking gang. He added that the gang's leader had been arrested, and the traffickers confessed that money laundering was done through Ms. Gao's account, involving over 2 million yuan. Ms. Gao panicked and quickly explained she had only graduated a few years ago and had saved less than 100,000 yuan, insisting she had nothing to do with it.
The man then scolded her for not taking it seriously, saying if she doubted his police identity, she could call Fuzhou's local 114 to verify. Ms. Gao dialed 0591114 as instructed and confirmed that "059187621305" was indeed the "Fuzhou City Court's" number. Soon after, he called again to urge her, and Ms. Gao no longer dared to doubt. She hurriedly borrowed 119,000 yuan from friends and relatives and transferred it to the "safe account" he specified, hoping the police would return it after investigation. Three days later, she called to check on the case's progress, but the number was already disconnected, and she finally woke up to the scam.
6. Social security subsidy scam
Citizen Zhang Qiufeng suddenly received a text message from a number ending in 3271. The message informed her that she could receive 4,780 yuan in social security funds. Zhang was overjoyed upon receiving the text. However, when she called Siping Social Security to inquire about the subsidy and how to claim it, she was told it was actually a scam. On August 18, Liu reported that at 11 a.m. on August 17, he received a text from number 10086020 claiming he had social security subsidies to claim and providing a social security phone number (1330543945X). Following the instructions, Liu was tricked into transferring 1,650 yuan in cash via ATM.
7. Credit card limit increase scam:
A call from the bank to increase credit card limit? At around 1 p.m. on October 16, Ms. Lu received a call from someone claiming to be a customer manager from a bank's credit card center. This "customer manager" told Ms. Lu that based on her long-term good consumption and repayment record, the bank decided to increase her credit card limit. However, before the increase, Ms. Lu needed to fill out an application form and deposit 20,000 yuan into her card in advance. "The card was in my hands, the money was in my own card, so I had no doubt about the call's safety," Ms. Lu said. She then followed the URL sent by the "customer manager" to fill in her name, ID number, phone number, and other details, and obediently deposited 20,000 yuan into her credit card. "After that, the manager called again, asking for my phone's dynamic password and the last three digits on the back of the card," Ms. Lu said. The other party told her this was the final step before the limit increase. Around 3 p.m. that day, Ms. Lu received a text alert. To her surprise, instead of a credit limit increase notification, she got four credit card consumption alerts. According to the alerts, her card had been used for 17,342 yuan in total. Only then did Ms. Lu realize she had been scammed and rushed to the Chengbei Police Station to report.
8. Credit card security code scam:
"You are a premium customer, and according to bank regulations, your limit can be increased, but you need to provide the card number, expiration date, and the three-digit CCV2 code on the back." As a result, after providing the information, the cardholder's limit was not increased, but the card was maliciously stolen. Recently, a credit card fraud tactic disguised as a limit increase has emerged, with one citizen losing nearly 10,000 yuan. According to a security expert from Guangfa Bank's Foshan branch, the three-digit code on the back of a credit card is the security code CCV2, which is crucial for online or phone transactions and is almost as important as the password. With this code and other information, payments can be completed on certain payment platforms even by non-cardholders.
9. Website domain expiration scam:
Using "domain name renewal" to scam. Recently, a company assistant named Xiao Lu in Guangzhou received a call from someone claiming to be from a Xiamen-based network information technology company, stating that the company's domain name was about to expire and would be deleted if not renewed promptly. The scammer used company phone calls, emails, or faxes to send renewal notices, claiming that failure to renew would result in deletion, and tricked victims into paying fees under the guise of helping renew domain names. They also used the pretext of "Chinese domain names being snatched, priority protection registration" to deceive. Impersonating staff from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), they notified companies that their Chinese domain names must be paid for and registered within a few days, or else others would snatch them, thereby defrauding money.
(Search Law)
