Japanese police reported that a Chinese student in Japan was scammed by someone impersonating embassy staff, losing approximately 1.94 million yen (about 56,800 Malaysian Ringgit).
According to the Kyodo News Agency, Kochi Prefectural Police in Japan announced on the 9th that a Chinese male student in his 20s was deceived by a man claiming to be a staff member of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, losing about 1.94 million yen. The police are investigating the case as telecom fraud.
The police revealed that on March 29, the student received a call from a man claiming to be an employee of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, who intimidated him by saying that the student was found to be involved in a fraud case.
The police stated that the impostor told the student that if he didn’t want to be arrested, by April 16 at the latest, he should send 20 grams of gold bars to a specified address and remit Hong Kong dollars to a specified account. The total amount scammed was about 1.94 million yen.
Earlier last month, the Chinese Embassy in Japan posted an article on its official WeChat account, warning Chinese citizens in Japan to be vigilant against new forms of telecom fraud.
The embassy stated that several Chinese citizens in Japan have recently been victims of telecom fraud, with losses running into millions of yen. It advised Chinese citizens in Japan, especially tourists and students, to be cautious and avoid being deceived.
The embassy noted that criminals often use spoofed numbers to send links such as “credit card fraud risk,” collecting the victim's bank account number, payment password, and SMS verification code to commit unauthorized transactions. Criminals also post currency exchange information on social media, enticing victims with favorable exchange rates. The recipient’s account is soon frozen for suspected money laundering, resulting in significant losses for the victim.
Criminals also post requests for purchasing on behalf of others on social media, tricking victims into advancing money at convenience stores to buy gift vouchers. Victims receive no reimbursement after sending photos of the vouchers and realize they've been scammed.