North Shore Police Area Command issued a warning about a cyber scam and urge people to ‘exercise caution and be aware’ of cyber safety after several reports of a current Chinese Authority scam that is in circulation.
Scammers are contacting victims over the phone, posing as “a Beijing Police Officer or a Captain of the Beijing Police” and informing them that they are wanted in relation to a money laundering scheme. This has resulted in large sums of money being transferred.
Please be mindful of who you are speaking to on the phone, as they may not be who they are purporting to be.
According to the ScamWatch website:
“The scam is usually run by a scammer speaking Mandarin who will call directly or leave an ‘urgent’ voice message to call back. When you return the call the scammer may pretend to be from a Chinese authority such as the police, a government or immigration official, or a parcel delivery service.Ultimately, they will threaten you’ll be extradited to China to face criminal charges unless money is sent to them. They will claim this money is needed to prove your innocence while they investigate the supposed crime, but there is no crime. It is simply not true.”
For more information, refer to the scam watch website here
If you ever receive a call from someone making threats about arrest or deportation, it is a scam.
Hang up the phone immediately and report it to your local police or to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
If you think the scammer has your bank account details, contact your bank immediately.