|
CHINA> National
![]() |
|
China's 'e-crime' gangs target older women
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-31 20:03 BEIJING: Criminal gangs tricking unwitting Chinese into releasing bank account information and other personal details are having the greatest success among older people and women, police said on Monday. A crackdown on "e-crime" has revealed gangs operating out of six counties in Chinese mainland, who route money and Internet communications through Taiwan as well as other southeast Asian regions to avoid detection.
In the West, such practices are calling "phishing" and usually take place through spam emails. "The biggest characteristic is that these people are very slick talkers, also they use very sophisticated technology," said Huang Zuyue, deputy director of the crimes investigation unit of the Ministry of Public Security. Other favourite tricks are to send "sweet words" to lure the victim into a revealing conversation, too-good-to-be-true schemes, threats of retaliation if money is not sent, and even fake kidnapping schemes, which the victim hears what they believe to be their child struggling or screaming, Huang said. About 70 percent of the victims are elderly, and about 70 percent are women. The scams, which originally targetted people on the wealthy coast, are moving to central and inland China. Neighbourhoods in Beijing are festooned with banners reminding people to beware of online financial crimes. The gangs act like corporations, with departments in charge of technology and others in charge of transferring the money. The country's lax personal banking procedures, and large number of online services including insurance, contribute to the gangs' ease of operations, police said. More than 1,400 people suspected of involvement in such crimes had been detained, Huang said. |
衡阳县| 临漳县| 运城市| 手游| 阿鲁科尔沁旗| 光泽县| 瑞昌市| 临汾市| 清徐县| 九龙县| 普兰县| 射阳县| 宣化县| 利川市| 延吉市| 贵港市| 永清县| 兴文县| 蓝山县| 广德县| 长沙县| 长垣县| 清徐县| 从化市| 那坡县| 胶州市| 兰州市| 新密市| 新沂市| 元朗区| 嫩江县| 象州县| 长治县| 桑植县| 汉沽区| 济宁市| 三台县| 贵州省| 临沧市| 淳安县| 诏安县|