Unwilling to accept being scammed out of 100k yuan, the woman actually planned an in-person meeting to set a trap and catch the scammer

Recently, a fraud case occurred in Pudong, Shanghai. Ms. Qu was targeted by an investment and wealth-management scam online. After losing more than 100k yuan, she did not choose to report to the police right away. Instead, she decided to “play along,” proactively arranging an in-person meeting with the scammer offline in an attempt to recover the losses herself. This behavior is absolutely inappropriate, and it truly makes people worry for her safety.

Unwilling to accept the loss of 100,000 yuan

The woman even wants to meet the scammer in person

Three hours before the police carried out the arrest, the Huaiyuan Police Station of the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau received an anti-fraud alert from the branch’s anti-fraud center. The alert suggested that Ms. Qu in its jurisdiction was allegedly currently being targeted by a telecommunications network fraud. Officers rushed to the shop where Ms. Qu ran her business to find out what was happening.

An officer from the Huaiyuan Police Station of the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, Zhao Chenghao: The alert information was that Aunt Qu recently installed multiple investment and wealth-management platforms on her phone. Recently, she logged into relevant scam-related websites, and that morning she withdrew 350k yuan in cash.

No one answered the phone, and there was nobody at the shop—where did Ms. Qu take the 350k yuan cash to? The top priority was to find out Ms. Qu’s whereabouts.

An officer from the Huaiyuan Police Station of the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, Zhao Chenghao: At the time, our first reaction was to judge whether Aunt Qu was still in contact with the scammers, and whether Aunt Qu’s money had already been handed over to the scammers.

The police then launched verification through multiple channels. While retrieving video to check Ms. Qu’s location, they also contacted Ms. Qu’s son, Mr. Qu. Mr. Qu also immediately arrived at the police station.

During communication with Mr. Qu, the officers found the situation was more complicated than they had expected. Regarding what happened to the 350k yuan cash, Ms. Qu and her husband showed obvious concealment from their son, Mr. Qu, while at this time it appeared that Mr. Qu still did not know the full truth.

Because earlier it was the mother who had encountered the scam, and that day it was the father who accompanied her to withdraw the money, and they had also informed in advance the reason for the withdrawal. Given that they already knew they had been scammed, how could they fall into the trap again? At this point, Mr. Qu still had not realized the seriousness of the situation.

The police suspected that Ms. Qu might still be in contact with the scammers and even preparing to transfer money again. Without knowing what Ms. Qu would do, the officer advised freezing her bank card first to ensure the safety of the existing funds.

When Mr. Qu heard that his mother was still in contact with the scammers, he became anxious as well. He first called his father to confirm the true use of the 350k yuan cash. Unexpectedly, his father gave him a shocking answer.

An officer from the Huaiyuan Police Station of the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, Zhao Chenghao: Aunt Qu had previously been tricked into an investment and wealth-management scam, losing more than 100,000 yuan. She was unwilling to accept the loss, so she kept in private contact with the scammer and arranged to meet the scammer offline.

Realizing that their parents might be in danger, Mr. Qu quickly contacted his father to ask for their exact location.

Serving as the “cash courier” to withdraw funds

Suspect criminally detained

An elderly person took 350k yuan in cash to confront the scammer and demand an explanation, not knowing how big a risk this step involved. At this time, two vehicles without license plates were waiting near the residential area, likely the so-called “cash couriers” sent by the scammers to take the money. Danger crept closer step by step. While the police had to protect the couple’s safety, they also prepared to seize the opportunity to arrest the suspect.

An officer from the Huaiyuan Police Station of the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, Zhao Chenghao: During the deployment, first of all we had to ensure Aunt Qu’s personal safety. We kept contact with Aunt Qu first. When we learned that the scammers were about to leave, we told her not to intercept them, but instead to promptly report the direction in which the scammers were going away.

About ten minutes later, the police arrived at Ms. Qu’s location and arrested the criminal suspect, Cao.

After being arrested, Cao still wanted to evade the investigation with the tactic of “answering questions with three denials,” trying to slip through.

Cao: I don’t know why they pulled me along. I didn’t take anything—what law did I break?

When he failed to get anything and falsely claimed he was unaware, confronted with Cao’s denial, the officers investigated on Cao’s phone. When the evidence was laid out in front of him, Cao admitted who his superior contact was and the reward promised by the other party.

Cao: If I get 100,000 yuan, they’ll give me 500 yuan. Today they let me come to take 400k yuan.

For 2,000 yuan, Cao took the risk of traveling from Hubei to Shanghai to help the fraud group retrieve stolen funds. Moreover, he was not an innocent person being used by the fraud group—he proactively searched for the other party.

The criminal suspect, Cao, was criminally detained by the police in accordance with the law for suspected fraud. The cash courier who withdrew the money has been arrested, but the fraud group still needs further investigation. Ms. Qu told the police the details of what happened to her.

An officer from the Huaiyuan Police Station of the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, Zhao Chenghao: Aunt Qu got to know the scammers online. The scammers induced her to download an investment app, and made her start with small investments on the app first. Aunt Qu initially did make some profit. Through this kind of method, the scammers gradually gained Aunt Qu’s trust. In the end, guided by the scammers, she made a large investment. The core scheme was high returns with low risk—starting from small gains and then taking bigger money, plus various reasons to continue the fraud.

After making a large investment, Ms. Qu found she could not withdraw the more than 100,000 yuan. Not wanting her money to be taken so cheaply by the scammers, Ms. Qu, realizing she had been taken, decided with her husband to “deceive” the scammers as well. So she pretended to agree to hand over the funds offline, made additional investments, and tried to lure the scammers out so they could be confronted face to face. Fortunately, the police’s anti-fraud alert mechanism worked in time. At a critical moment, the officers intervened promptly, ensuring the personal safety of Ms. Qu and her husband. The unknown danger did not occur. This case also serves as a reminder: after encountering fraud, reporting to the police immediately is the correct choice.

An officer from the Huaiyuan Police Station of the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, Zhao Chenghao: You can’t be sure how many scammers there are offline, and you can’t be sure what will happen after you meet them. The most effective method is to report to the police immediately. Only after the police get involved can we freeze the relevant funds in the first place and trace leads through the money. This can both ensure the victim’s personal safety and recover losses to the greatest extent possible. All online “high-yield” investment and wealth-management schemes that claim to charge you a guarantee deposit or a “de-freezing fee” are fraud. Don’t install unknown apps, and don’t click on unknown links.

Source: CCTV News

Source: Hangzhou Traffic 918