The Chinese Embassy in Germany reminds Chinese citizens in Germany to beware of telecommunications fraud

Berlin, August 6 (Xinhua) -- Recently, criminals have once again impersonated the name of the Chinese Embassy in Germany and frequently committed telecommunications fraud. In order to further enhance the awareness of Chinese citizens in Germany and understand the usual methods of fraudsters, the Embassy in Germany once again issued the following reminder:

First, common types of telecommunications fraud

(1) Impersonating an embassy or consulate

In order to induce the parties to provide personal information, criminals use technical means to impersonate our library telephone [phone] *** to call the parties, pretending to be embassy staff, providing information such as their own and the names of the parties, defrauding the parties' trust, falsely claiming that the identity documents and bank accounts of the parties were stolen for illegal activities. In addition, criminals may also lie that the parties need to participate in the "Overseas Census" or have important documents and parcels to collect at the library, or that the parties are involved in illegal crimes, and guide the parties to transfer to fraudulent calls pretending to be the Public Prosecutor's Office, so as to trick the parties into providing personal information, so that the parties suffer serious information leakage and property losses.

Remind:

The caller number can be disguised by technical means, and when you receive a call that shows the phone number of our library 0049-30-27588***, do not let your guard down.

Our library will not contact the person concerned to conduct an "overseas census" or ask the person to come to the embassy to collect the documents and parcels and therefore request personal information, and the museum will not notify the person concerned by telephone of the suspected violation of the law and other matters. In addition, our library is a direct line manual service telephone, and will not send notifications through recorded telephones, or prompt the parties to dial the extension number through telephone voice to jump to the manual service.

Such fraudulent calls often deceive the parties into personal names, dates of birth, passport numbers, bank card numbers and other personal privacy information. If you receive such a suspected fraudulent call, please ignore it and hang up immediately, do not provide any personal information or transfer money according to the telephone requirements, and if necessary, contact the embassy or consulate to verify the situation.

(2) Impersonating the public prosecutor's law category

Criminals called the parties concerned, pretending to be public security, procuratorates, courts and other state law enforcement and judicial organ staff, to deceive the parties' trust. Criminals falsely claim that the identity of the parties has been fraudulently used for illegal and criminal activities or suspected of violating the law and committing crimes, asking the parties to cooperate with the investigation, luring the parties to provide personal privacy information on the grounds necessary for handling the case, and luring the parties to transfer money in the name of paying fines, paying bail, accepting "fund review", and so forth. In such cases, criminals often use "case secrecy" as an excuse to require the parties to cut off contact with the outside world in order to prevent the parties from obtaining external help.

Remind:

The State Public Prosecutor's Law and other organs have strict case-handling procedures, and law enforcement personnel will not report the case by telephone, let alone handle cases through social software. Organs such as the State Public Prosecutor's Office law do not require parties to pay a deposit or bail, nor do they have so-called "safe accounts." The State Public Prosecutor's Law and other organs protect the legitimate rights of citizens and will not require parties to sever all external ties on the grounds of case secrecy.

Lawbreakers are good at fighting "information warfare" and "psychological warfare." Lawbreakers often report forged information such as the name and work number of the person handling the case, and even provide forged web pages and wanted notices of state organs to establish their authority. Criminals also often use a strong tone to deter the parties on the phone, falsely claiming that the case is bad and may bring serious consequences such as repatriation to the parties, so that the parties lose their judgment in a strong sense of tension.

If you receive such a suspected fraudulent call, please ignore it and hang up immediately, do not provide any personal information or transfer money according to the telephone requirements, and if necessary, verify the situation through the embassy or consulate or the official channels of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

(3) Online dating

Criminals try to get to know the parties on online social platforms, and after establishing a good relationship with the parties and gaining the trust of the parties, they deceive the parties to transfer money by tricking the parties into participating in investments or falsely claiming that they are in difficulty and urgently need to borrow money.

Remind:

The identity of netizens is difficult to distinguish between true and false, and criminals often approach the parties through forged identities, and establish trust by displaying forged documents and long-term emotional exchanges before they begin to defraud money. Online dating must be cautious, do not add stranger contact information at will, strictly draw the boundaries between virtual and reality, feelings and money, and be vigilant when the other party mentions money.

There will be no pie in the sky, and investment and financial management need to be cautious. There are professionals and channels for investment and financial management, do not believe in the so-called insiders or channels, can not use informal investment platforms, should not fantasize about obtaining high returns, greed for money often only cause property losses.

After all, there are loopholes in the scam script of criminals, so please be sure to stay sane and sober, and not lose judgment and vigilance because of online friendship or love. If you encounter such fraud, you can contact the embassy or consulate or the police for help, and do not transfer money.

(4) Online shopping

Criminals publish advertisements on social media or online shopping platforms, attract the attention of the parties by falsely claiming low prices and selling high-quality and scarce goods and services in large quantities, induce the parties to leave the formal trading platform, transfer money through social software or false trading platforms, and quickly cut off contact after defrauding money.

Remind:

When shopping online, please be vigilant, learn more about and carefully identify merchants and commodity information, and be vigilant against merchants whose commodity prices and reserves are obviously different from ordinary market conditions. You should try to choose a formal and reliable official transaction and payment platform, do not click on the unknown payment link provided by the other party, and pay attention to saving the shopping voucher.

If you encounter such fraud, you can contact the embassy or consulate or the police for help, and do not transfer money.

2. Prevention of telecommunications fraud

Telecommunications fraud against overseas Chinese citizens is often transnational crime. Due to objective and practical factors such as differences in laws and regulations, different languages, and cumbersome procedures for handling transnational cases, it is difficult to investigate and handle transnational telecommunications fraud cases. Therefore, the fight against telecommunications fraud focuses on prevention. In order to ensure that they are not deceived, overseas Chinese citizens need to cultivate a good sense of prevention.

Please be vigilant and be extra vigilant when it comes to personal information and money. Do not trust the request for personal information and transfer remittance in any name, and do not blindly trust the other party because the other party claims to be from an official agency. Do not randomly add stranger friends, do not click on strange links, do not download mobile phone software from unknown sources, do not trade on informal platforms, and do not communicate important information through social software, especially some social software that has the function of deleting the chat history of both parties.

Please maintain self-control, do not lose the bottom line of protecting personal information and property safety due to online friendship or love impulses, and do not trust the so-called high-return investment or low-cost high-quality goods because of greed for money and greed for small and cheap.

Please remain sane, calm and unhurried, and calmly analyze the situation. Telecommunications fraud will always show its feet, and when uncertain, you can verify the situation with the embassy or consulate or other credible official channels, communicate with family and friends, and do not act impulsively.

3. Handling of telecommunications fraud

After discovering that the other party is suspected of telecommunications fraud, please ignore it and immediately cut off contact, and do not provide any personal information or transfer money. If you find that your personal information has been leaked, please inform your relatives and friends immediately to prevent criminals from using the relevant information to defraud. If you encounter property damage, you should properly save the evidence and report the case to the local police in time, and at the same time report to the domestic public security organs, and you should also contact the account bank or the trading platform as soon as possible to ask it to take corresponding stop-loss measures such as stop payment and freezing. If it is not possible to report the case directly to the domestic public security organs, it is also possible to report the case in a timely manner through close relatives in China and request help from the anti-telecommunications network fraud center at the place where the case was reported in China.

4. Contact information for seeking help in telecommunications fraud cases

German police: 110

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Global Consular Protection and Service Emergency Hotline (24 hours): 0086-10-12308 or 0086-10-59913991

Consular protection telephone of the Chinese Embassy in Germany: 0049-30-27588551

Consular protection of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Hamburg: 0049-40-81976030

Consular protection of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Munich: 0049-89-724498146

Consular protection of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Frankfurt: 0049-69-69538633

Consular protection of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Düsseldorf: 0049-211-55080446