Police target antique scam gangs
Print Edition
POLICE targeted 26 criminal gangs involved in antique scams in a citywide crackdown recently, officials said yesterday. The total amount involved exceeds 50 million yuan (US$7.7 million).
More than 450 suspects were picked up in the sweep last Thursday and 370 have been detained.
The investigation started in January after police received multiple reports at the end of last year.
According to police, the companies involved usually register as auction houses or art galleries and have shops and offices in the city’s high-end commercial buildings. They set up scams to charge the victims large amounts for appraisal and service fees.
“The victims, who think they have precious antiques, are usually attracted by the companies’ fake auction or exhibition online,” a police officer, Wei Tao, told Shanghai Daily.
“Any completely worthless artifact will be appraised as worth millions of yuan.”
When the victim comes to the shop, a person claiming to be an appraiser tells them the item is a genuine antique and charges them 600 yuan.
However, to complete the sale to a fake buyer the victim is told they must send their “precious antique” to a third-party institution for a 10,000-yuan “professional appraisal.”
The appraisal never meets the fake buyer’s requirements, the transaction is cancelled and their money is lost.
Police said there are 99 companies in the city that fit the scam profile.
“There’s a lack of regulation in the industry, which make supervision difficult,” Wei said.
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