In May, a young Chinese student in his twenties residing in Kurume City fell victim to a fraudulent scheme, conned out of approximately 3 million yen in cash. The scammer had posed as an official from the Chinese embassy, convincing the student that he was under suspicion in a certain case.
According to the police, this sort of scam, where fraudsters impersonate Chinese authorities, has seen seven instances this year alone in the prefecture, including attempted scams. The police are urging individuals to disregard suspicious calls or messages. On May 23, a man posing as an official from the Chinese embassy contacted the 25-year-old Chinese student living in Kurume City, telling him he was suspected in a case. Another man, claiming to be a member of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau in China, later instructed the student to download a specific communication app on his phone.
Upon downloading the app, the student received a series of messages indicating that a female fraudster was using his identity to create a bank card and that he had the choice of either being deported or paying a bail of 300,000 yuan. Duped into believing the tale, the student transferred roughly 3 million yen to the designated account over six days in seven transactions. Source: NHK
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