455 detained over phone cash cons
By Ni Yinbin |
December 5, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SHANGHAI police said yesterday that 455 people have been detained so far this year over phone scams.
Officers said they will continue efforts to educate locals not to be taken in by strange calls or text messages.
The Shanghai Public Security Bureau, in association with city banks, has stopped more than 1,300 telecom scams totaling 70 million yuan (US$11 million) this year, police said.
Con artists often pretend to be law-enforcement officials or school teachers and try to persuade victims to transfer money to "safety accounts," police said in the annual anti-telecom scam event.
Officers said such cons are becoming ever-more frequent, with culprits usually making calls from overseas, which poses challenges to law enforcement.
"Giving details of actual cases is the best way to educate locals," said Zhang Xuebing, director of the bureau.
Stalls were set up in 300 locations across the city yesterday morning with officers providing advice for locals.
"If members of the public receive calls from people claiming to be law enforcement officials or kidnappers they need to remain calm," said Wei Jian, a police expert on telecom scams.
"You don't need to respond to the calls immediately. Call 110 to get advice."
In one case in April, a couple were stopped from transferring 15,000 yuan into a con man's account as a ransom to "save" their son, said Songjiang District police.
They were seen wandering around an ATM machine in the early morning by police officers in Liugang area.
The couple told officers that their son had been kidnapped and the gang had just called them with instructions to transfer 15,000 yuan into a certain bank account.
Officers warned them about the scam and the couple called their son and realized the kidnap claim was a con attempt.
In another case, also in Songjiang District in April, a middle-aged man was stopped from transferring thousands of yuan for tuition fees to an unknown account by an alert bank manager.
The man said he had been told he would get a discount if he paid early, police said
In a third case, a woman surnamed Chen, in May rushed into a bank in Songjiang District which just closed, begging staff to let her transfer 10,000 yuan to "save her son."
Chen said she had received a call from someone claiming to be her son's teacher saying he had been hit by a car and the hospital needed money before he could receive surgery.
A manager at the bank, surnamed Gu, realized it was a scam. The woman called her son's school and learned that the boy was safe.
Officers said they will continue efforts to educate locals not to be taken in by strange calls or text messages.
The Shanghai Public Security Bureau, in association with city banks, has stopped more than 1,300 telecom scams totaling 70 million yuan (US$11 million) this year, police said.
Con artists often pretend to be law-enforcement officials or school teachers and try to persuade victims to transfer money to "safety accounts," police said in the annual anti-telecom scam event.
Officers said such cons are becoming ever-more frequent, with culprits usually making calls from overseas, which poses challenges to law enforcement.
"Giving details of actual cases is the best way to educate locals," said Zhang Xuebing, director of the bureau.
Stalls were set up in 300 locations across the city yesterday morning with officers providing advice for locals.
"If members of the public receive calls from people claiming to be law enforcement officials or kidnappers they need to remain calm," said Wei Jian, a police expert on telecom scams.
"You don't need to respond to the calls immediately. Call 110 to get advice."
In one case in April, a couple were stopped from transferring 15,000 yuan into a con man's account as a ransom to "save" their son, said Songjiang District police.
They were seen wandering around an ATM machine in the early morning by police officers in Liugang area.
The couple told officers that their son had been kidnapped and the gang had just called them with instructions to transfer 15,000 yuan into a certain bank account.
Officers warned them about the scam and the couple called their son and realized the kidnap claim was a con attempt.
In another case, also in Songjiang District in April, a middle-aged man was stopped from transferring thousands of yuan for tuition fees to an unknown account by an alert bank manager.
The man said he had been told he would get a discount if he paid early, police said
In a third case, a woman surnamed Chen, in May rushed into a bank in Songjiang District which just closed, begging staff to let her transfer 10,000 yuan to "save her son."
Chen said she had received a call from someone claiming to be her son's teacher saying he had been hit by a car and the hospital needed money before he could receive surgery.
A manager at the bank, surnamed Gu, realized it was a scam. The woman called her son's school and learned that the boy was safe.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
