Xinhua News Agency, Jinan, March 6th : Topics: Forged donations, impersonation of teachers, false transactions ... Beware of online scams in the epidemic
Xinhua News Agency "China Net Affairs" reporter Shao Luwen Yang Wen
A recent investigation by the reporter found that the use of various network applications increased during the epidemic, and some criminals hid in them to implement online fraud. The public prosecution and law enforcement agencies in various places have severely and severely punished such cases in accordance with the law and vigorously cracked down on crimes related to the prevention and control of the epidemic. Relevant people suggest that relevant online platforms should increase their own review efforts, and at the same time, call on the public to be vigilant and make sure to verify the identity of the other party in the event of capital transactions to avoid offline transactions.
Frequent cyber fraud cases related to the epidemic
The reporter found that during the prevention and control of the epidemic, some criminals used the characteristics of remote and non-contact on the Internet to carry out online fraud. Such illegal and criminal cases have an upward trend. Recently, the criminal suspect Cai registered a WeChat public account named "Wuhan Charity Association" on the Internet, deceiving the public with more than 100 donations, and the amount involved was more than 8,000 yuan. Upon receiving the victim's alarm, the Jieyang Public Security Bureau of Guangdong Province immediately opened a case for investigation and subsequently arrested the criminal suspect Cai.
Affected by the epidemic, the Ministry of Education has postponed the opening of the school, and criminals regard this as a "business opportunity", mixing them into the student parent group to implement fraud. In mid-February, the Public Security Bureau of Longkou City, Shandong Province received a police report from a primary school teacher. There were scammers in the QQ group of parents who pretended to be teachers to defraud multiple parents. After investigation, it was found that after entering the QQ group, the scammer immediately changed his avatar and nickname to exactly the same information as the class teacher, and issued a QR code on the grounds of paying tuition fees, defrauding many parents' money.
There are also some criminals who use various social software and short video platforms to publish false product information, misrepresent that they have stockpiled anti-epidemic materials or have reliable sources to carry out fraud. Li Xin, a junior in a university in Shandong, told reporters that he saw information about purchasing medical masks in a circle of friends, and then contacted to purchase. Within three days, she and several students paid more than 1,000 yuan for purchasing, but the other party delayed delivery due to poor logistics and too many orders. A week later, I asked about the delivery situation, and found that the seller had been blackened. After realizing that he was deceived, several people reported to the police station.
According to data from the National Anti-Fraud Center of the Ministry of Public Security, as of 20:00 on February 29, public security agencies across the country have detected 9,517 cases of using the epidemic to carry out telecommunications network fraud, with a cumulative total of more than 273 million yuan. In addition to the use of online part-time, QQ group, online shopping and other channels for fraud, vehicle ticket refunds and changes, and pretending to be charity organizations to raise funds are common fraud methods.
Complicated crimes, great social harm, and difficult points in investigation
Jing Tao, deputy director of the Shandong Provincial Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Bureau and head of the Anti-Telecommunications Network Fraud Center, said that during the epidemic prevention and control period, epidemic prevention materials were tight and people's lifestyles at this stage changed to a certain extent, leading to various types of fraud. Endless.
For example, online scams that sell anti-epidemic materials, from masks, disinfection water, goggles to forehead guns, various "new drugs"; scams implemented in the class QQ group, from scamming parents to deceiving students; applying for jobs online, part-time, etc. In the name of the fraud, the victims are mainly college students and housewives, and they are younger.
The number of fraud cases during the epidemic increased, causing certain social harm. In a number of recent fraud cases investigated by the police in Maoming, Guangdong, Luoyang, Shandong, and Heze, Shandong, criminals extended to the countryside through the Internet to sell "epidemic prevention materials" to villagers. The amount of fraud exceeded 10,000 yuan, leading to many people who were not wealthy. The villagers suffered large economic losses. In addition, the implementation of fraud in the QQ group of schools and classes not only led to financial loss to families, disrupted the normal online teaching order and teaching progress, but also exacerbated the anxiety of parents and students during the epidemic.
Di Zongfei, deputy squadron commander of the anti-fraud squadron of the Interpol Brigade of the Jinan City Public Security Bureau, said that the fraud methods during the epidemic were not complicated, but the fraud showed a wide distribution of criminals, easy latent fraud and strong concealment. Many online fraud cases have a small amount of single fraud, but the total amount is large.
According to a number of police officers handling cases, many citizens increased their dependence on Internet applications during the epidemic. However, due to the fact that online scams do not meet, criminals can easily win the trust of victims. Coupled with people's urgent need for epidemic prevention supplies, eager job search, and trust in teachers, the success rate of fraud is higher. At the same time, some criminal suspects have used the Internet to commit crimes across regions, which has made it difficult for police officers to handle cases.
Public prosecution law severely cracks down on public needs to be more vigilant
On February 10, the Supreme Law, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice issued the "Opinions on Punishing and Preventing Crimes Combating the Epidemic of New Coronavirus Infection in accordance with the Law," emphasizing the strict punishment of all types of crimes that prevent and control the epidemic.
Recently, the People's Court of Decheng District, Dezhou City, Shandong Province, publicly sentenced the province's first cyber fraud involving the epidemic, and the defendant Zhu Mouhai was sentenced to six months in prison. The People's Court of Decheng District, Dezhou City held that during the period of preventing and controlling the epidemic of infectious diseases, the defendant used telecommunications network technology to fake the sale of supplies for the prevention of epidemic of infectious diseases in the name of deceiving others' property. The amount was large and constituted fraud. Sin, severe punishment. The relevant person in charge of the court said that in the face of various crimes that hinder the prevention and control of the epidemic, they will resolutely and sternly crack down in accordance with the law to safeguard the lives and property of the people.
"In a special period, the public security and judicial organs punished such crimes severely and swiftly according to law, effectively cracked down on crimes related to the prevention and control of epidemics, formed a legal deterrent, and provided strong judicial guarantees for maintaining social order and stability." Shandong University Law College professor Hu Changlong said that social networking, short video, shopping and other related online platforms should also enhance their own censorship, identify behaviors involving online transactions, transfers, remittances, charitable donations, etc. through machine audits and manual reviews to prevent illegal acts.
Jing Tao reminded that the public must purchase medical supplies through regular channels and regular merchants; confirm the identity and contact information of charities and other departments; receive any news that scan codes and pay tuition fees, do not rush to remit money, be sure to contact directly The head teacher or school verifies the authenticity. "Do not conduct transactions and transfers offline. If there is a need, you must verify the identity of the other party by phone or video before processing." Jing Tao said.