alert! The "pretend to be a public prosecutor" scam targeting international students

Rule of Law Online丨Be alert! The "pretend to be a public prosecutor" scam targeting international students

Beijing police have recently received reports of multiple cases of overseas students being impersonated as public prosecutors and defrauded by law. Fraudsters pretended to be immigration staff, called international students, and committed fraud on the grounds that their phone cards and bank cards were involved in the case, causing international students to be defrauded of large amounts of money. Xiao Zhang, who was studying abroad for graduate school, was targeted by fraudsters shortly after he started school.

Callers pretending to be immigration staff, specifically defrauding international students

Overseas student Xiao Zhang: At that time, I had just registered at a foreign school. For convenience, I bought a mobile phone card locally. I remember very clearly that on the third day after the card was activated, I received a text message from the operator, reminding me that I had a missed call. The text message also included a recording file, which was the voice message sent to me by the operator.

Scam message: Hello user, your phone will stop local data today due to abnormal usage.

International student Xiao Zhang: This voice message is very realistic, and there is an interactive link of "one Chinese, two English". In my impression, this is generally what official customer service looks like. Then I called the phone number on the text message.

After the call was connected, the so-called customer service told Xiao Zhang that he had a mobile phone card in Shanghai, China, and had sent thousands of harassing text messages in March this year.

International student Xiao Zhang: The customer service said that because of this incident, my newly activated overseas mobile phone card will be suspended. My first reaction at the time was, how could I do this while I was abroad? There must be a mistake.

Call the "police officer" to report the crime and take notes via video

Customer service said that if what Xiao Zhang said was true, he was advised to report the case to the Shanghai police. Xiao Zhang then called the phone number provided by the other party and reported the case to the so-called Shanghai police. On the phone, a person who called himself "Officer Xia" asked Xiao Zhang to download the TEAMS software and take notes through video conferencing.

International student Xiao Zhang: In the video, I saw him wearing a police uniform, sitting in a room that looked very much like a public security bureau. He first showed me his police officer ID and told me his police number, and then he started taking notes for me, which lasted about three or four hours. At the end of the interview, he told me that he had been notified by his superiors that my name was involved in a major criminal suspect case. About an hour later, he told me that the case had been upgraded because of its seriousness.

"The case is serious" and you may be "arrested" at any time

Because of the "serious nature of the case," Xiao Zhang was subsequently transferred to the so-called "Interpol Captain" and "Prosecutor General." They said that based on existing clues, a bank card under Xiao Zhang's name had recently received more than 5.7 million yuan in fraudulent money, and they suspected that Xiao Zhang had received 500,000 yuan in benefits.

Foreign student Xiao Zhang: Didn’t he say that I took more than 5 million yuan in stolen money? The money involved dozens of victims. He said that one of the victims committed suicide by jumping off a building that day, so he wanted to arrest me immediately and send me back to the country. I was so scared.

Xiao Zhang repeatedly explained that he had been studying abroad and had never applied for that bank card. The other party said that in view of his special situation, he could be temporarily allowed to undergo investigation overseas. However, during the investigation, you must report your whereabouts regularly every day.

International student Xiao Zhang: He said that he set up an infrared monitoring system for me. Not just at home, but anywhere, as long as there is an electronic device, it can monitor my every move. He can see whatever I search for online or send messages. And I was asked to report to them my location, the number of people around me, the safety situation, the time at that time, etc. four times a day at 8:00 am, 12:00 noon, 4:00 pm, and 8:00 pm. I also had to take a photo of myself and send it to them.

At the same time, the other party repeatedly emphasized that the case was serious and must be kept strictly confidential. No one, including parents and classmates, could be told, otherwise they would be implicated.

International student Xiao Zhang: He told me that this case is very complicated and involves many people. Many staff in the bank are also assisting the bad guys. Once you say it, the secret will be leaked, that is, no one can say it. He also warned me that if I told others, I would be sentenced to 3 to 7 years in prison. At that time, he also asked me to uninstall Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Zhihu, and Weibo. Anyway, he asked me to delete them all, which was equivalent to cutting off my contact with everyone outside.

"Members of the task force" showed up and showed their "police officer ID"

Xiao Zhang told reporters that on the second day after he was under surveillance, a man who claimed to be a member of the task force came to meet him downstairs in his rented apartment, showed him his "police officer ID" in person, and asked him to cooperate with the investigation.

International student Xiao Zhang: He has my ID card, passport, and all my information. He also confirmed his travel records with me: On what day of the month and where did you fly? And which hotel did you stay at? When he accurately stated this information, I became even more convinced that I was indeed being investigated.

Xiao Zhang said that in addition to convincing him with these details thrown out intentionally or unintentionally, the other party was also very good at emotionally manipulating him.

Foreign student Xiao Zhang: Didn’t he say that a victim jumped from the building? When he said this, he also expressed special self-blame, saying that as the police officer in charge of the case, he did not care about the victim. Then he started to worry about me again and told me that if you have any psychological problems, you must tell me in time and don't let it go away. The feeling of being particularly responsible. They spent at least half a month acting out this play with me, which convinced me of the script. At that time, I thought that I was a suspect and had to cooperate with their investigations. I did not think that I was being deceived.

At first, they only cooperated with the investigation and did not mention the "security deposit".

Xiao Zhang said that during the past half month, the other party only asked him to cooperate with the investigation and did not make any money-related requests. Therefore, when the other party later raised money, he had no doubts.

International student Xiao Zhang: Later, the prosecutor general said that he could help me get priority for investigation, so I started a long wait. After waiting for about a week, he told me that after review, I did not meet the application conditions, so I had to pay a deposit. This was the first time money had come up, and I didn't have any doubts until now. I told him that I don't have that much money. He said, I will help you find a solution, and we can find a solution together.

A few days later, the other party suggested to Xiao Zhang that he could ask his parents for money to pay a deposit on the grounds that capital verification was required to participate in a certain school exchange program.

International student Xiao Zhang: He even made a project document for me and asked me to send it to my parents. He asked me to have a video call with my parents, and he was listening on the sidelines. He set up a separate device to monitor the process of me asking my parents for money. After the money arrived, he started teaching me how to buy virtual coins. The explanation he gave me was that because banks are full of bad people, you have to use this encryption method so as not to alert others.

After Xiao Zhang followed the other party's request and purchased all the large amounts of funds from his parents into virtual coins, the other party sent him a special fund sealing certificate, which made him even more confident that the police were seeking priority for investigation on his behalf.

International student Xiao Zhang: Maybe half a month later, he said that the evidence for this case has been collected clearly, and you are also very cooperative with our investigation. Now, under pressure from all sides, I have applied for a place on bail pending trial for you, but you have to pay another deposit. He helped me perfect a new speaking technique. The first time I asked for money, I told my parents that it was to prepare for a visa; the second time I asked for money, I told my parents that I passed the interview, but the visa was delayed. The reason is that the visa requires two certificates of deposit. The bank can only print one certificate for a deposit. You must deposit another amount of money before the bank can issue another certificate. I used this excuse to fool my parents, and my parents actually believed it.

Eager to clear away the suspicion, he flew back to China overnight to report the crime.

In this way, Xiao Zhang's second money was also paid in the so-called bail pending trial deposit by purchasing virtual currency. Later, the other party told Xiao Zhang that the case had been investigated clearly, and if he returned to China to report the case now, he could switch from a suspect to a victim. But what the scammer never expected was that Xiao Zhang, who was eager to clear himself of suspicion, actually flew back to Beijing overnight and went straight to the police station to report the crime.

International student Xiao Zhang: At the police station, the police told me that they had not found any cases in my name. I thought it was because this case was highly confidential and the grassroots police did not have enough authority to investigate. I kept calling the scammer at that time, but he didn't answer the phone, but he messaged me back and said, "Didn't they find it?" Then you go home first, I will notify the relevant units and then contact you. At this time I still believed him. It wasn't until he ignored me later and several police officers came over to tell me that you were cheated that I suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Through the patient persuasion of the police, Xiao Zhang finally woke up and avoided further losses.

alert! A new scam in the name of overseas school capital verification

According to information released by the Beijing Anti-Fraud Center, in recent years, most international students have encountered fraud involving impersonation of public prosecutors and law enforcement. Scammers first pretend to be staff members of public prosecutors, immigration management, embassies and consulates, etc., and fabricate reasons such as problems with the victim's entry and exit records, expired passports, suspected crimes, etc., and threaten that if the victim does not cooperate with the investigation, he will be wanted, arrested, or even have his passport canceled and deported. Then, through psychological pressure and mental control, the victim was asked to transfer money to a so-called "safe account", or to direct and act out a "kidnapping" scene according to his instructions, in order to defraud his family members of huge sums of money.

In addition, recent electronic fraud cases have also seen scams that require capital verification to participate in study tours, visits, internships and other activities organized by overseas schools.

Yang Fan, Squadron Leader of the Anti-Fraud Center of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Haidian Branch of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau: Let me give you a reminder. As a parent, if you receive a request or demand from your child to pay study-related fees, the best way is to go directly to the other party's public account for collection, and have the parent in the country pay directly, so as to avoid omissions in the process. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be a domestic or foreign law enforcement agency while studying abroad, saying that one of our classmates is involved in a related case and needs to cooperate with the investigation, don’t panic. The first thing you need to do is to contact the local Chinese embassy or consulate abroad to verify the relevant information. If any relevant law enforcement agency asks our students to pay relevant fees, it is a scam.