Using boys under 14 years old as "cash pickup drivers," Shanghai police reveal a new scam tactic in telecom fraud

Shanghai, March 26 (Reporter Li Shuzheng) - In fraud crimes, those responsible for offline cash withdrawal and transfer are commonly referred to as “cash runners.” On the 26th, reporters learned from the Shanghai police that to evade law enforcement, some telecom fraud groups have resorted to using minors and seriously ill individuals to play this role.

At a press conference held that day, the Shanghai police disclosed new tactics related to telecom fraud.

The police stated that overall, the current situation regarding the prevention and control of telecom network fraud continues to improve, but related cases remain at a high incidence. Non-contact fraud, represented by telecom network fraud, accounts for over 50% of all criminal cases, and the trends of cross-border fraud, online traffic diversion methods, and offline money laundering are becoming increasingly evident.

According to data, since the beginning of this year, the Shanghai police have arrested more than 360 criminal suspects, including “cash runners,” and have intercepted over 25 million yuan in cash and gold that had been defrauded.

At the conference, the Shanghai police disclosed two recent typical cases that were solved.

On March 12, the police in Jiading, Shanghai received a tip-off that a local resident, Aunt Wang, was lured by her “online boyfriend” and had withdrawn 120,000 yuan in cash for an offline handover, posing a very high fraud risk. The police quickly set up a surveillance operation and arrested a man named Luo, who came to withdraw cash as instructed by an overseas fraud group.

Upon investigation, it was found that Luo was under 14 years old and was not his first time acting as a “cash runner”: on March 11, he had already withdrawn fraudulent funds from a woman named Li in Hongkou and later delivered it to a park in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, where another person disguised as a delivery worker, Liu, picked it up for transfer.

The Jiading police immediately initiated cooperation with the Zhejiang police and jointly arrested Liu. Currently, Liu has been criminally detained for concealing and hiding criminal proceeds, while Luo, not having reached the age of criminal responsibility, has been ordered by the police to be strictly supervised by his guardians. The case is still under further investigation.

On March 2, the Baoshan police in Shanghai received a fraud alert after a local resident, Ms. Huang, downloaded a suspicious investment platform. When police officers visited her home to conduct face-to-face anti-fraud persuasion, Ms. Huang, having been deeply brainwashed, insisted that she had not been defrauded and that no one had contacted her.

On March 18, a warning showed she was about to hand over 100,000 yuan in cash to a “cash runner.” The police rushed to the scene and used a drone for aerial surveillance to locate suspicious individuals. Around 1 PM, the drone captured footage of Ms. Huang handing cash to a man named Zhang, who was subsequently arrested by the police, recovering 100,000 yuan in cash.

The police recovered Ms. Huang’s 100,000 yuan in cash. Photo provided by the Baoshan Branch of Shanghai Public Security Bureau.

Upon investigation, it was found that in February of this year, Ms. Huang had met a so-called “soldier” online. The man claimed to have access to special internal investment channels and recommended an investment platform to Ms. Huang, claiming that the platform could not be recharged online and that funds had to be withdrawn and handed over offline to designated personnel. Ms. Huang was misled by his rhetoric.

Zhang admitted to being directed to receive fraudulent funds and has since been criminally detained. The case is still under investigation. (End)

Source: China News Service