China Overseas Chinese Network, April 27th, title: "Security Account", "Preferential Exchange Rate"... These are all scams!
Recently, fraud cases against overseas Chinese citizens have emerged one after another, endangering everyone's property and even the safety of lives. Many embassies and consulates abroad have also issued safety reminders on this.
Liars keep on tricks, come and learn anti-fraud knowledge with Xiaoqiao, be prepared!
"Embassies and Consulates" calling for payment? Don't believe it
Screenshot of the website of the Consulate General in Calgary
Under the epidemic situation, in order to reduce the risk of overseas Chinese traveling to catch the epidemic, a number of embassies and consulates abroad have introduced a "no contact" and "no meeting" approach to visa application.
Recently, the Chinese Consulate General in Calgary received reports from many Chinese citizens, and received a call from the self-proclaimed Consulate General or the Chinese Passport Production Center, requesting supplementary application materials and remittance payment.
Since there are indeed parties who are handling consular document services at the consulate, and the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China is played when the call is transferred to the manual service, it is very confusing.
In response to this type of fraud, the Chinese Consulate General in Calgary issued a special reminder: Except for the applicant's phone number, address, passport number and other information when filling in the application for consular document business, the Consulate General will not require the applicant to provide it on the phone Personal information; if necessary, the staff of the consulate general will notify the applicant to send the materials to the certificate inquiry mailbox; the staff of the consulate will not ask for the applicant’s bank information on the phone, and will not ask the applicant to remit the fee To a designated account or online transfer, etc.
"Book a vaccination" to keep your eyes on personal information
Data map.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan
Recently, some criminals have taken advantage of the people's eagerness to be vaccinated to commit fraud through telephone calls, text messages, and social media.
In the United States, some victims received forged documents with clear recipient names and asked to fill in personal information such as date of birth in order to obtain "vaccination qualifications."
The US Department of Homeland Security pointed out that the intention of the fraudsters was to obtain people's personal information in order to conduct health care fraud or other forms of identity fraud.
Los Angeles County officials reminded them to be alert to these red flags, such as asking people to immediately provide detailed information such as social insurance, bank accounts, credit card numbers, and medical insurance.
Once such personal information is leaked, it may cause serious financial losses.
"Security account" is not safe! Don’t listen, don’t believe, don’t transfer!
Picture Screenshot of the Consulate-General's website in Manchester
Recently, a number of Chinese citizens in Manchester, UK, suffered fraud under the guise of a local bank.
Fraudsters first use the name of postal and courier companies to deceive the parties by clicking on the links in the text messages and obtaining their personal information and bank card information under the pretext of package delivery errors and incorrect account information.
Subsequently, the scammer pretended to be a bank employee and contacted the party, falsely claiming that they found that there was a problem with the party's account, the bank card was stolen, and the account would be temporarily frozen by the bank.
Next, the scammer contacted the party with a forged identity such as the bank's "anti-fraud department staff", claiming that the bank had opened a temporary security account for the party, and induced the party to transfer money to the so-called security account to complete the fraud process.
The consulate general in Manchester reminded overseas Chinese that local fraudsters are mainly engaged in such frauds, who have certain technical means and are familiar with bank operations. In the process of fraud, they will often forge relevant website pages or use the bank's official phone number to send money transfers. Information is very confusing, please be vigilant for overseas Chinese.
"Preferential exchange rate" is the bait! The scammer disappeared after receiving the money
In overseas life, currency exchange is commonplace.
Some people feel that it is troublesome to run the bank and want a more cost-effective exchange rate, so they choose "private exchange."
As everyone knows, criminals are targeting the victim's mentality and setting up traps.
Recently, the Consulate General in Dubai has received multiple reports: criminals generally use "preferential exchange rates" as bait to find targets for crimes in WeChat groups or Moments. After receiving the transfer and remittance, the deceived person will block and cancel the WeChat account, or Directly "playing missing", or reporting to the police on the grounds of not receiving the transfer, took the opportunity to extortion.
The potential harm of foreign exchange through informal channels is not only the loss of money, but also the “victims” who are involved in money laundering, fraud, tax evasion, terrorist financing and other cases without their knowledge, and thus become “criminals” with high risks. Great harm.
The Consulate General in Dubai reminds Chinese citizens of the consular area to raise awareness of prevention and refrain from believing in the "preferential exchange" advertisements on the Internet, and exchange exchange should be handled by a formal financial institution.
"Extras" is not easy to earn! "Getting rich overnight" is a scam
During the epidemic, the income of some people decreased and the burden of living increased, allowing scammers to find "opportunities."
Recently, a Chinese man in Malaysia saw an advertisement for "investing in gold" while browsing social media. He wanted to take the opportunity to invest and make money because his salary was difficult to meet the needs of his life, so he left personal information such as his ID card and also invested 500 yuan. Git.
In the process of continuing to raise funds, his mother noticed that her son had been scammed, and the two called the police together, thus avoiding even greater losses.
Xiao Qiao reminds everyone that investment scams often use people's eagerness to seek money and promise false guarantees such as "getting rich overnight" and "high profits".
Many people are unable to resist the temptation brought by high yields, ignoring the suspicious aspects of investment projects and even the risks of illegality.
I hope you will raise your awareness of prevention, do not believe in false investment advertisements, and protect your personal information and property.
Data map.
Photo courtesy of Chongqing Public Security Bureau
Online dating needs to be cautious! Talk about money, say love is not credible
Ms. Yan, who lives in the United States, met a man online last year. After several months of chatting, the two began "online dating."
Later, the man claimed that he was in charge of a “project that was co-operated by rich people all over the world to speculate on food futures.” There was a vacancy in investment quota. Ms. Yan needed to fill the vacancy to continue the project, and promised to resign to the United States and Ms. Yan lives together.
Ms. Yan said that she was originally not interested in such projects, but she fell into a scam because she was dazzled by love.
Xiao Qiao reminds everyone that in the "killing pig" where you first fall in love and then cheat money, scammers will first be patient and have a deep affection, so that the victim can believe in the love in front of him.
There are also criminals who, after gaining the trust of victims, trick them into investing and placing bets on false investment platforms. Such platforms often use petty profits to trick users into making additional investments, or paying large deposits, and then absconding with money.
The above are the new scams that have recently appeared. I hope everyone will be more vigilant after reading them. Don't be fooled!
Since scam gangs are "carefully studying" how to deceive people every day, we also need to actively learn anti-fraud knowledge, learn more about the latest fraud methods, and try to avoid being fooled by the "information gap" with scammers.
(Source: Website of Chinese Consulate General in Calgary, Website of Chinese Consulate General in Dubai, US "World Journal", etc. Author: Zhao Jingzhu)