‘Cola con’ victim counting the cost
Print Edition
A WOMAN who was duped into transferring the entire contents of her bank account to a criminal gang and then cajoled into destroying the ATM she used to do so by pouring a bottle of cola into it has been found guilty of vandalism, the Pudong New Area People’s Court said yesterday.
The 26-year-old defendant, surnamed Liu, said in court that she received a telephone call in November from a person masquerading as a customer service representative for a well-known courier company.
The person allegedly told her that a parcel she was expecting had been seized by Customs officers after being linked to a gang involved in drug crimes.
The court did not make clear the alleged associations, but reported that Liu was then contacted by another person masquerading as a police officer who informed her that her bank account had been used by the crime gang to launder their ill-gotten gains.
To resolve the matter, Liu was told to use an ATM machine to transfer her entire savings — 2,700 yuan (US$415) — to an alternative “secure” account, the details of which were provided by the fake police officer, the court said.
After completing the money transfer, and acting on the instructions of the “police “officer, the woman poured a bottle of cola into the cash deposit trough to “remove all traces of the dubious transaction.”
After later realizing that she might have been cheated, the woman contacted the police, and was promptly detained.
Despite acknowledging that Liu had been the victim of a scam and had paid 37,635 yuan in compensation to the bank, the court found her guilty of vandalism.
There is currently no information available about the people alleged to have been behind the initial scam.
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