# Online fraud tactics are emerging endlessly, lawyer Zhiming teaches you to defeat them one by one
September 17 to 23, 2018 is Cybersecurity Awareness Week. Nowadays, "phubbers" and "internet addicts" have become a common social phenomenon, especially among young people, who look at their phones on the subway and even while eating. However, this bad habit not only affects physical and mental health but also makes people prone to falling into fraud traps due to their immersion in the online world.
Oh my goodness! Keeping your head down all day, aren't you tired?
Currently, digital cultural industries such as anime and games, online literature, online music, and online video are experiencing explosive growth. Along with this comes the emergence of various new types of telecom and cyber fraud cases, causing significant financial losses for many people.
As information technology becomes more advanced, telecom fraud techniques are also "keeping pace with the times." Telecom fraud methods are constantly emerging, mostly carried out through technologies like phone calls, text messages, WeChat, and QQ. So, what are the latest types of telecom fraud? Attorney Zhiming will provide a detailed introduction.
❶ Latest types of telecom fraud
01. Using internet calls to impersonate financial institutions, social security, post offices, cable TV, telecom departments, and public security, procuratorate, and court authorities to commit fraud.
The suspect impersonates financial or judicial authorities, calls the victim at home, claims they are involved in drug trafficking or money laundering, demands the victim to protect or audit their accounts, instructs them to transfer deposits to a pre-prepared bank card account, and directs them to operate at an ATM or directly transfer money to commit fraud.
02. Impersonating fire or military police fraud
Directly call the victim, fraudulently demand a deposit under the pretext of purchasing items like tents or beds.
03. Impersonating QQ friends or WeChat friends fraud
Usually steal QQ accounts or disguise as WeChat friends, chat with their friends to gain trust, and finally fraudulently demand money under the pretext of urgent need for funds or transferring money to clients.
04. Fabricated consumption tax refund fraud, using "car purchase/housing tax refund" to induce the victim to perform transfer operations at an ATM.
05. Impersonating an acquaintance to commit fraud
06. Gaining the victim's trust through phone calls or text messages with phrases like "Guess who I am," then claiming to be on a business trip, arrested for prostitution or gambling, or having a family member hospitalized to commit fraud.
07. Impersonating customer service numbers like 95588 or 10086, using phishing websites to commit fraud under the guise of online banking upgrades or point redemption.
08. Sending text messages containing Trojan links, tricking victims into clicking them to steal bank card numbers and passwords for fraud.
09. Committing fraud by pretending to request a remittance or debt repayment
The suspect sends text messages such as "Hello! Please transfer the money to XX Bank (or another bank); Account: XXXXXXX, Thank you!" to commit fraud.
09. Fake Prize Scam
Using SMS, phone calls, scratch cards, letters, and other media to send false winning notifications, then defrauding victims by demanding fees for handling, deposits, postage, or taxes.
10. Fake Kidnapping Scam
The suspect calls the victim, falsely claiming that the victim's child or other relative has been kidnapped to extort money.
11. Fake Website and Phishing Scam
Setting up fake online banking sites, trading platforms, or mobile top-up websites that closely resemble legitimate ones to commit fraud.
12. Other Types of Fraud
Online shopping fraud, online job recruitment fraud, online matchmaking, dating, and sperm donation fraud, stock dividend fraud, impersonating organized crime fraud, fraud involving document processing, card issuance, loans, and solicitation, PS obscene photo fraud, online shopping credit score fraud, QR code scanning fraud, and fake public account fraud.
So, as someone who goes online every day, do you know how to protect your personal information? What links should you not click easily? How can you use apps safely and reliably? Click the image to learn ↓↓ It concerns your property safety, forward to remind others!
Alright, after learning so much above, I believe you are particularly concerned about how to use legal weapons to protect your own interests. Lawyer Zhiming answers for you:
❷ How to protect your rights in online fraud?
Online fraud is a type of fraud crime and can be punished by referring to the relevant legal provisions of fraud crime.
In accordance with the Criminal Law and the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Trial of Fraud Cases: Whoever defrauds public or private property, if the amount is relatively large, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined; if the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or have property confiscated.
The Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court and the Guangdong Provincial People's Court's "Notice on Determining the Amount Standards for Fraud Criminal Cases" (Yue Gao Fa Fa [2014] No. 12): Based on the economic development and public security conditions in various regions of our province, after research, the standards for implementing "relatively large amount," "huge amount," and "especially huge amount" in our province are notified as follows: 1. Category I regions include six cities: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, and Dongguan. The starting point for a relatively large amount of fraud is set at 6,000 yuan or more; the starting point for a huge amount is set at 100,000 yuan or more; the starting point for an especially huge amount is set at 500,000 yuan or more. 2. Category II regions include fifteen cities: Shantou, Shaoguan, Heyuan, Meizhou, Huizhou, Shanwei, Jiangmen, Yangjiang, Zhanjiang, Maoming, Zhaoqing, Qingyuan, Chaozhou, Jieyang, and Yunfu. The starting point for a relatively large amount of fraud is set at 4,000 yuan or more; the starting point for a huge amount is set at 60,000 yuan or more; the starting point for an especially huge amount is set at 500,000 yuan or more.
01. Before clicking on a website, be sure to carefully distinguish between legitimate websites and cloned websites, and do not casually click on pop-up web links, as these pages may contain Trojan viruses, leading to the theft of personal accounts and passwords by criminals, resulting in property loss.
02. If you find yourself deceived, promptly preserve evidence, including chat records, bank transfer records, and screenshots of web pages, then report to the court as soon as possible.
03. Install a mobile security app on your phone to prevent malicious software from stealing private information and online banking details. Identify these fraudulent phone numbers. Be sure to enable the harassment interception function of the mobile security app to recognize and block phone numbers sent or dialed by fake base stations or number-changing software.
04. Do not trust any lies that require you to enter passwords, verification codes, or remittance information.
05. If you encounter fraud, report it to the police as soon as possible and notify the bank to freeze your account.
❸ How to effectively report online fraud?
The main difference between online fraud and general fraud is that online fraud is carried out using the internet. Due to the anonymity of the internet, it provides opportunities for fraudsters and also increases the difficulty for public security authorities to handle cases. If you fall victim to online fraud, you should report it to the public security authorities as early as possible to potentially recover financial losses. At the same time, you can also report the fraudulent websites or the instant messaging accounts of the fraudsters to prevent others from continuing to suffer losses. The precautions are as follows:
1. Report the case to the local public security department as soon as possible.
2. Preserve as much evidence as possible, such as the following:
(1) Screenshots of payment records or bank transfer receipts.
(2) Screenshot of chat records;
(3) Recording of phone conversations;
(4) Screenshot of SMS records;
(5) Email correspondence.
3. Submit the police department's receipt of report or case filing, evidence materials, illegal website URLs, illegal instant messaging accounts, etc., together to the reporting center.
❹ How to protect rights in case of illegal online disclosure of personal information
Once personal information is leaked, the consequences can range from being harassed by advertisements to being defrauded of money, or even losing one's life. Once our personal information is leaked, we can protect our legal rights through the following three methods:
First: File complaints and reports with internet regulatory authorities, industry and commerce departments, consumer associations, industry management departments, and relevant organizations. The reporting hotline of the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center is "12377", and its website is www.12377.cn.
Second: Report the case to the public security department. After being defrauded, individuals should promptly report to the public security authorities to seek their help, in order to reduce or recover losses.
Third: Claim compensation from the infringer. Consumers can also further protect their legal rights through legal means based on the Tort Liability Law and the Consumer Rights Protection Law, such as demanding an apology, eliminating adverse effects, restoring reputation, and compensating for losses from the infringer.
Therefore, online fraud is not an accidental occurrence. Even if we fall victim to online fraud, there is no need to panic or feel embarrassed. As long as we carefully gather relevant information, understand how to safeguard our rights against online fraud, and promptly use legal tools to protect ourselves, we can minimize our losses. Using legal weapons to protect our legitimate rights and combat online fraud is what we truly should do.
