A woman in Xiamen suddenly took out a large sum of cash, claiming it was for kitchen renovation. Police quickly arrived to intercept!

Source: Strait Herald

Recently, the Lianqian Police Station in Xiamen successfully prevented a dating-and-investment scam targeting the elderly, saving the victim’s life savings of 1.26 million yuan. The Xiamen police issued a relevant warning about this type of scam.

According to a message released by the police—

On the evening of March 21

The Siming Branch of the Xiamen Municipal Public Security Bureau

The Lianqian Police Station received a tip

A man in his sixties is being lured

into a dating-and-investment scam trap

Community police officers

carried out prevention work

immediately by going to the residence

At 65 years old, Ms. Chen

lives in a community in Qianpu, X

On March 21

Ms. Chen withdrew 160,000 yuan in cash

An unusual cash withdrawal triggered

an anti-scam alert from the Siming Public Security Anti-Fraud Special Team

The police officers of the station immediately went to verify

“Is the cash you withdrew meant to renovate the kitchen?” When asked by the officers, 65-year-old Ms. Chen was resolute in her stance but vague in her wording, showing a strong sense of vigilance. In response, the police did not give up. Instead, they broke the deadlock by continuously asking for details: “Aunt, how much does kitchen renovation roughly cost? Where are you putting the cash you withdrew right now? Have you already contacted a construction team?”

A string of follow-up questions made Ms. Chen panic instantly. Grasping this breakthrough, the officers, while patiently calming Ms. Chen’s emotions, also punctured her statements by tying in specific details, and gradually guided her to recall the full picture of what happened. Under the sincere persuasion and logical analysis from the officers, Ms. Chen’s mental defenses were finally dismantled, and she voluntarily revealed the entire process of the dating-and-investment scam she had fallen victim to.

After investigation, on March 14

Ms. Chen received a stranger dating text message

After being lured by the other party’s sweet talk,

she first and then downloaded “Feifei” and “teams”

Two non-compliant apps and then kept in contact with the other party

The scammer “Yu Mou” introduced himself

Under the guidance of “Yu Mou,” Ms. Chen downloaded a chat app

Then, under the other party’s prompting, Ms. Chen entered a fake “China Medicine” investment platform and was about to put all her 1.26 million yuan savings into it. Fortunately, the police officers arrived in time to dissuade her from going through with it, thus avoiding a massive loss of property.

According to the police, dating-and-investment scams have become one of the most high-incidence types of scams targeting older adults in recent years. Scammers precisely exploit the psychological characteristics of elderly people—emotional loneliness, weak financial knowledge, and a desire for stable returns. They first use a warm, caring offensive to build a “perfect persona” and win the trust of the elderly, then use bait such as “sure profits,” “insider information,” and “high rebates” to lure seniors into downloading niche apps with very strong concealment, guiding them step by step to inject money.

Ms. Chen’s conversation with the police

Police remind the public of 5 ways to prevent such scams

Police remind friends from all walks of life, especially elderly people and their family members, to firmly build a line of defense against scams and to safeguard the bottom line of property security.

First, don’t trust strangers when dating. For online acquaintances you have never met in person and strangers who suddenly show kindness, do not easily open up or reveal personal information. When it comes to emotional relationships, you must be even more rational.

Second, don’t participate in high-yield investments. Any investment projects that claim “low risk, high returns” or “insider channels guarantee profits” are all scam traps.

Third, don’t download unknown apps. Such software is often involved in scam platforms.

Fourth, verify big transfers multiple times. Before elderly people handle large deposits, they must inform their children and relatives as soon as possible.

Fifth, have more care and companionship from family.

Strait Herald Reporter Chen Jie, Zeng Yixuan, Correspondent Lü Xiaofeng