As a result, fraudsters who are well versed in people's hearts have tailored a scam for this: targeting the target through social platforms such as blind dates, establishing a romantic relationship through the Internet, and luring the other person to buy gifts to express their fe

Source: Ping An Chongqing

Do you need to give gifts when you are in love?

Many people face this problem and

will give a positive answer:

Falling in love requires sacrifice,

only giving gifts can be sincere!

Therefore, fraudsters who are well versed in people's hearts have tailor-made a scam:

Target the target through social platforms such as blind dates, establish a love relationship through the Internet, and lure the other person to buy gifts to express their feelings. The source of these gifts is the online store registered by the fraudsters themselves. The so-called gifts are of course high-priced and high-quality counterfeit goods...

Recently, the Criminal Investigation Corps of Chongqing Public Security Bureau organized Nan'an, Wansheng, Hechuan, Tongliang, Pengshui and other district and county public security organs simultaneously closed down the Internet in two batches in Chongqing, Fujian, Guangxi, and Hubei, and eliminated five fraud gangs that used this method to defraud.

In November 2021, the police from the Anti-Fraud Detachment of the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau discovered during case investigation that a new method of telecommunications network fraud had emerged in China. They used making friends to trick each other into shopping in online stores and giving gifts, but in fact the gifts were from the fraudsters. "Sell for yourself and reap for yourself."

We must resolutely fight against new scams when they appear! The Criminal Investigation Corps immediately mobilized the relevant district and county public security agencies involved to form a task force to carry out in-depth investigation.

First, we started with social apps and online malls, combined with relevant information and data, to trace the source and dig deep into the clues of the case.

Second, through network flow and capital flow investigation, and combined with mass reporting clues, we quickly identified the organizational structure and personnel identities of the fraud gang. After nearly two months of rigorous investigation, the task force identified five fraud gangs located in Fujian, Guangxi, Hubei and other places.

In December 2021, more than 300 capable police officers were mobilized to carry out centralized network closing operations in two batches. A total of 103 criminal suspects were arrested, more than 500 cases were solved, and more than 1.8 million yuan in stolen goods were recovered.

According to the policeman handling the case, in fact, the main modus operandi of fraudsters is not too complicated. Like other types of dating scams, they first create a persona - a young, beautiful woman who longs for love. Then they publish the woman's dating information on a large number of social platforms, and look for male victims who have emotional needs and have certain financial strength. While

is looking for "prey", they are also actively creating their own crime tools. Fraudsters register and open shops in various online shopping malls, list a large number of fake and shoddy gift products, and set inflated product prices. For example, glass rings and low-quality dolls originally only cost a few dozen yuan, but in the shops they opened, they often cost thousands of yuan.

The next step is the cliche "online dating" segment: the scammers add the victim as a friend through various social software based on the victim's relevant information, and gradually establish a romantic relationship through "you come and I go" online chat.

The last step is the most critical: luring consumption. "Online dating girlfriends" will coquettishly ask the victim to buy gifts to express their feelings in the name of birthdays, confessions, etc. Of course, this gift cannot be purchased online at random, it must be "specified" - in fact, it is a link to a product in an online store that the fraudster has registered in advance, and the "girlfriend" will send it to the victim, specifying Must buy this.

“It’s hard to buy something you love!” In order to make their “girlfriend” happy, many victims pay the money without thinking too much. Because the gift is sent directly to the "girlfriend," the victim cannot know whether the gift is actually worth thousands or even tens of thousands. Often after such requests come several times, the victim will realize that he has just bought "loneliness"!

The so-called "lovers" of many victims are actually the same person in many cases! A fraud gang usually consists of a dozen or twenty young men and a young woman. Usually the men chat online to maintain online relationships. When video, voice or phone calls are needed, the only woman in the team will do it.

is different from the general "pig-killing plate" scams used by online dating to induce investment. This type of method mainly targets men with a certain financial strength, taking advantage of the fact that men are "relatively confused" about the actual value of shopping and are easy to accept "designated gifts". It is a simple way to express feelings and other psychology. The amount of money defrauded by this method is smaller than that of the pig killing plate, which does not arouse the vigilance of the victims. Many people even end up complaining instead of reporting the crime.

The police reminded that because of the distance between online friends, it is often difficult to verify the identity of the other party. There may really be a "foot-picking man" behind many popular online comments! Therefore, when making friends online, you must be especially vigilant. Don’t easily agree to the other party’s requests for “shopping” and “transfer” before meeting in person to avoid being defrauded and sad!