The Ministry of Public Security issues safety tips to prevent fraud during the National Day holiday

China News Service, October 3 (Xinhua) According to the WeChat official account of the Ministry of Public Security, during the National Day holiday, travel, leisure and entertainment, and shopping consumption activities increased. In order to increase the public's awareness of prevention, the public security agency issued prevention and safety tips for the types of fraud that are most common during the holiday.

Be wary of ticket refund, change and ticket scams

During the holidays, civil aviation passenger flow increases, ticketing is tight, and flight delays, refunds and changes occur frequently, which easily gives criminals an opportunity to take advantage of them. Fraudsters often pretend to be airline customer service, contact the victim via phone or text message, and accurately state their name, ID number, flight number, boarding time and other information to gain trust, and then falsely claim that the flight was delayed or canceled due to malfunction, weather and other reasons, requiring the victim to go through the procedures for refunding, changing or rebooking the ticket, and Proactively offer compensation, induce the victim to click on unknown links, log in to fake websites or download fraudulent apps with screen sharing and remote control functions, obtain the victim's bank card account number, password, and verification code to commit fraud, or directly trick the victim into transferring money to the fraudster for reasons such as paying a deposit.

The public security agency reminds that when informed that a flight is delayed or canceled, you should verify it through formal channels such as the airline’s customer service phone number and official website to avoid operating outside the official platform. Do not transfer money to unknown accounts. Do not click on unknown links, log in to fake websites, download fraudulent apps, or enable screen sharing.

Be wary of fake resellers, logistics customer service scams

During the holidays, shopping and consumption activities increase. Fraudsters usually pretend to be the customer service personnel of e-commerce logistics platforms through mass text messages, phone calls, etc., claiming compensation from victims on the grounds of lost express delivery, delayed express delivery, damaged packages, and quality problems with online purchased goods. They induce victims to click on so-called return links, log in to fake shopping websites, and obtain the victim's ID number, bank card account number, password, verification code, etc. to commit fraud, or directly trick the victim into transferring money to the fraudster for reasons such as paying a deposit.

The public security agency reminds that regular online merchants do not require buyers to pay fees in advance for refunds, and refunds are refunded through the original payment channels without buyers providing bank card numbers, passwords, and verification codes. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be an e-commerce or logistics customer service, you must take the initiative to verify with the official platform and never leave the official platform.

Be wary of false transactions in online games and star-chasing ticketing scams

During the holidays, people spend significantly more time using short video, social networking, and gaming platforms. Scammers will take the opportunity to publish false transaction information on online games such as "acquire game accounts at high prices," "send skins for free," and "release anti-addiction" on the platform, or sell tickets for so-called "celebrity meetings" and "celebrity concerts," etc., mainly to attract the attention of young people and add friends, and then trick them into clicking unfamiliar links, scanning QR codes, logging into counterfeit platforms, downloading fraudulent apps, etc. to commit fraud.

The public security organs remind that all private transactions that are outside the supervision of official platforms are at risk of being defrauded. Parents should strengthen the supervision and management of minors’ use of electronic devices, set payment limits and usage permissions, and educate and guide their children to establish anti-fraud prevention awareness from an early age: not to add strange netizens, not to click on strange links, not to download apps from unknown sources, and not to disclose personal information.

Special reminder

If you are not sure whether you have encountered a scam, you can ask the "National Anti-Fraud AI", which is an anti-fraud intelligent assistant that people can ask at any time and check at their fingertips. It is guided by the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security and independently developed by the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. As long as you ask questions through your mobile phone, the "National Anti-Fraud AI" will answer immediately, identify fraud types, dismantle fraud techniques, provide risk analysis, put forward prevention suggestions, and simultaneously push typical cases and anti-fraud prevention videos. The "National Anti-Fraud AI" App can be downloaded and used in all major mobile application markets. WeChat and Alipay mini programs are also open at the same time. The general public is welcome to download and use it.