New methods of online fraud have emerged: local numbers, "real" faces, "regular" interfaces... all may be fake! (Attached are real cases + anti-fraud guide)

The Ministry of Public Security recently announced

first half of this year

The number of electronic fraud cases dropped by 15.6% year-on-year

Since October 2025

The number of telecommunications fraud cases shows a downward trend

But the techniques are constantly being updated!

The following are eight new techniques that have been exposed recently

There are real cases in each category

Overseas calls "change" Beijing number

Case:

Ms. Jiang, who lives in Fangshan, Beijing, received a strange call from a Beijing number. The caller claimed to be Douyin customer service and said he could help her turn off the platform’s automatic deduction function. After Ms. Jiang followed the other party's instructions and clicked on an unfamiliar link, the 40,000 yuan deposit in her bank card was stolen.

The police found that seven people, including Dai and Zhang, disguised calls from overseas fraudsters as ordinary domestic mobile phone numbers and dialed them to middle-aged and elderly victims. Currently, seven people are under criminal detention on suspicion of assisting information network criminal activities, and one person is under administrative detention for providing mobile phone card numbers to criminals.

Fraudulent techniques:

Overseas fraudsters hire people to convert phone numbers to domestic numbers to commit fraud. These phone cards are registered and put into use on the same day. One phone card can even make hundreds or thousands of calls.

Anti-fraud guide:

Seeing a local number does not mean it is safe. If it involves "refunds, claims, or turning off deductions," always hang up and verify first.

AI face-changing hacks into accounts

Case:

The voice of Olympic champion Quan Hongchan was cloned to sell local eggs; the face of well-known doctor Zhang Wenhong was synthesized into a late-night live broadcast room to sell protein bars; the image of actor Wang Jinsong was used as a spokesperson for financial advertising; the image and voice of actor Wu Yue were faked by AI to promote skin care products... The difficulty and high cost of safeguarding rights have become common pain points.

The Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court announced a case this year that AI-generated videos have been able to evade facial recognition systems. Two criminals used the Internet to collect photos of others, used AI to generate dynamic videos such as nodding, shaking their heads, and blinking. Then, by tampering with camera data, they successfully broke through the face verification of the shopping platform, stole and sold users' personal information, and made a total of 5,857 yuan in profits. The court ordered the two to make a public apology and pay public welfare damages equivalent to the amount of illegal gains.

Fraudulent techniques:

"Face stealing" - cloning celebrities' faces and voices, forging "live broadcast to deliver goods", etc., and making profits based on celebrity effect;

"Stealing accounts" - using "dynamic face videos" generated by AI to bypass facial recognition, illegally activate phone cards, log in to financial platform accounts, and even pretend to be relatives and friends to make video calls to borrow money.

Anti-fraud guide:

Don’t believe any live broadcasts or advertisements where AI celebrities’ faces and voices bring goods or recommend stocks; don’t “swipe faces” at will, don’t provide face photos and verification codes, don’t authorize others to operate accounts remotely, and be wary of AI pretending to be relatives and friends to make video calls to borrow money.

Shared screen remote skimming

Case:

"Hello, I am logistics customer service. The rice you purchased online was damaged during transportation. I can now apply for triple compensation for you."

Resident Wang received such a strange call. The caller claimed to be a staff member of a logistics company and induced Wang to click on an unfamiliar link and download a claims software from an unknown source under the guise of triple the claim settlement. After the software was installed, Wang's mobile phone was remotely controlled for about 40 minutes before returning to normal. After preliminary verification, Wang's bank credit card was initiated for inter-bank transfer and mobile payment, and his credit limit was also stolen, resulting in a total loss of more than 20,000 yuan. Through the coordination of multiple departments, the investigators successfully recovered economic losses of 20,683.9 yuan for the victim.

Fraudulent techniques:

Scammers obtain citizens' shopping information through illegal channels, fabricate lies such as "damaged goods", "order abnormalities" and "double claims" to induce victims to click on unfamiliar links and download unofficial APPs, and then remotely control the victim's mobile phone and steal account funds.

Anti-fraud guide:

Do not click on unfamiliar links or download apps from the official app market. Any "screen sharing or remote control" is a trap. If you are deceived, call the police immediately.

Mail gold/cash physical "investment"

Case:

Buy a 20 yuan hot water kettle with a 10 yuan cash back, a 60 yuan electric fan with a 30 yuan cash back, a 198 yuan rice cooker with a 100 yuan cash back...

Dao, a man from Yunnan, was induced on an online platform. The other party used "cash back on orders" as bait. He first gained trust with a small rebate, and then asked him to place an order for a 3,000 yuan washing machine with the promise of a 1,500 yuan cash back. But the washing machine was not received, and the cashback was not credited. The other party lied about "operational error" and asked Dao to buy gold worth 75,000 yuan and weighing 79.85 grams and mail it to a designated location. Fortunately, the gold order was successfully intercepted by the police.

Fraudulent techniques:

Use "high rebates and internal channels" to induce the purchase of gold, silver bars or even withdraw cash directly, send it to a designated location or hand it over to a designated person, bypassing transfer interception.

Anti-fraud guide:

The rebate itself is a scam, and anyone who asks for cash or gold to be mailed is a scam.

Concert ticket/second-hand transaction serial fraud

Case:

Student Xiao Li (pseudonym) contacted a netizen who claimed to have extra tickets via a private message on Sina Weibo. The other party claimed that the original price tickets could be transferred, with a single ticket price of 4,000 yuan. After the two parties communicated and finalized, the other party immediately sent WeChat and Alipay payment codes, inducing Xiao Li to pay the 4,000 yuan ticket in multiple transfers. Then he lied that Xiao Li did not note the information when paying, the system could not issue tickets, and the order was frozen. He proactively "provided a solution" and asked Xiao Li to add the so-called official customer service Alipay account to handle the refund. After adding a friend, the customer service used the reason that "the account balance is insufficient and the refund write-off cannot be completed" and gradually induced Xiao Li to make multiple transfers through WeChat, Alipay, Meituan and other platforms to "increase the balance". The cumulative transfers before and after were as high as 48,000 yuan.

Fraudulent techniques:

After falsely issuing the tickets, they used "flow risk analysis, risk investigation" and other methods to induce transfers and even induce screen sharing.

Anti-fraud guide:

Purchase tickets through official channels, verify the website domain name and customer service number of the other party's ticket purchase, refuse any form of private transfer, do not click on unfamiliar links, and do not scan unknown QR codes.

City Dating App + Offline High Consumption

A man was attracted by "Dating in the Same City" and downloaded strange software. The other party said that he could make friends by completing tasks, inducing him to keep recharging. When he wanted to withdraw cash, he was tricked into buying a mobile phone and taking it to a designated location to "repair the data" and unfreeze the account on the pretext of operational error and frozen account. He bought the mobile phone and asked an online taxi to deliver it. Fortunately, he was stopped by the police in time.

Fraudulent techniques:

Scammers first use friends in the same city to attract traffic, trick victims into downloading fraudulent platforms, recharging money to pay bills, and then make up excuses about freezing their accounts to induce them to buy mobile phones, gold and other valuables and send them to designated locations. After receiving the goods, they will block them and disappear.

Anti-fraud guide:

Anyone who asks you to pay for gold, mobile phones and other valuables and then deliver them to a designated location through online car-hailing or express delivery is a scam! Many "local friends" are scammers. Once you find out that you have been deceived, save your chat and transfer records, and immediately call 110 or 96110 to call the police.

Sources: CCTV.com, CCTV News, Beijing Daily, Jilin Municipal Public Security Bureau, Fujian Provincial Public Security Department website, FM93 Voice of Traffic, Guangzhou Anti-Fraud, etc.

Author: Liang Jing