Victoria, BC – Investigators are warning the public, specifically members of our Chinese community, as they continue investigating a second, elaborate extortion scheme consistent with a “virtual kidnapping.”
Officers were called to investigate after a woman reported a fraud attempt that involved persons claiming to be Chinese authorities. The woman reported that on July 11th, 2018 she received an automatic telephone call in “unaccented” Mandarin indicating the call was from the Chinese embassy and that she had a package waiting. After following a series of prompts, the woman was connected with a man who claimed he was in investigator with a specific Chinese authority and that the woman was implicated in a serious crime. Over the course of the next several hours the woman was prompted for personal and financial information under the guise of an ongoing investigation. The fraudsters went far enough to instruct the woman to Google the number for the authority that the man claimed he was from to confirm the number he was calling from. Investigators believe the caller had “spoofed” the number.
Luckily, the woman spoke with a friend about the incident and during that conversation became suspicious. The two then called police and spoke with investigators. So far, it appears the woman has not suffered any financial losses, however much of her personal information has been compromised.
What can you do?
If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the Chinese Consulate or the Chinese Police who ask you to participate in a similar occurrence, you are asked to call our non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654, or your local police.
Speak with students and visitors in your community from mainlaind China about these extortions and encourage them to contact police if they feel unsafe or are contacted by people claiming to be the Chinese authorities who are asking them to pretend to be the victim of a crime.
WARNING | EXTORTIONS TARGETING CHINESE STUDENTS*
- The Chinese Police or government cannot arrest you in Canada.
- All policing related contact from the Chinese government will be through local police.
- Canadian or Chinese authorities will not ask you to destroy a phone or to take photos or videos of yourself pretending to be the victim of a crime.
- If you are contacted by someone claiming to be the Chinese police and they ask you to be of assist and investigation by pretending to be the victim of a crime, call (250) 995-7654 for assistance (even if they tell you not to).
- The Victoria Police Department is here to help you. If you feel unsafe or threatened, please call us either by dialing 911 or (250) 995-7654.
