1. Refund Fraud
Case One: An International student received a strange phone call from a person who claimed to be staff of an online store. He claimed the store could not send the goods ordered, and asked for the student’s personal information and bank information to issue a refund. The student gave the information and was scammed of 5299RMB transacted from his bank card.
Lesson: Be cautious when doing online shopping, especially when strangers ask for your personal information like ID number, bank information, passport, and other personal information.
2. Prize Fraud
Case Two: An International student received a text message claiming she had won a prize in a lottery game and she clicked the link in the message. The scam directed to her Alipay, where 2250RMB was transacted.
Lesson: There is no free lunch in the world. Ignore any winning note or phone call. Delete any message mentioning ”click the link” to get prize.
3. Online-shopping Fraud
Case Three: An International student tried to buy a TV through WeChat from a stranger at a cheap prize and after he paid the money, the seller refused to send the goods and disappeared.
Lesson: Do not buy things from any strangers on wechat.
4. Onlinejob seeker fraud
Case Four: An International student received a message stating students are allowed to work part-time jobs online and make money easy at home.The message asked for personal information like a bank card number and identification code to receive the salary. After giving the information, money was stolen from his bank account.
Lesson:Don’t believe any messages or notices, without the proper authenticationand research behind it.
Case Five: An International student was in contact with a man from a WeChat group, who claimed he could help the student find a job and a work visain China. The swindler asked for his personal information and a 3500rmb service charge before he could process the visa application. Days later, the swindler responded that the visa process was unsuccessful and asked for his bank information and identification code to refund the service fee. They swindled another 5000RMB from the poor suckers bank account.
Lesson: Don’t trust strangers and don’t give your personal information to anybody online, especially your bank information.
To conclude, there is no such thing as free. Be careful when you’reanswering the phone or reading any message and be cautious with online fraud at all times. Make sure you do you due diligence if youdo come across an opportunity, but otherwise, get in contact with appropriate authorities and services to help you.
