Fraud Groups Claim to Send Free Phones for Money, CIB: Do Not Click on Unidentified Logistics Links

(Central News Agency reporter Huang Li-chen, Taipei, 3rd) The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) stated today that "online shopping" fraud cases have long remained high, often using fake third-party transaction platforms as bait. A Mr. Li, believing a netizen's post offering a free Apple phone sent via "My-Store Delivery," was defrauded. The CIB urged the public not to click on unidentified logistics links.

The CIB of the National Police Agency issued a press release this afternoon stating that "online shopping" fraud has long been the most common type of fraud. Although the amount of financial damage per case is not high, the booming and convenient online transactions and high reliance on online shopping and information exchange mean that such cases are extremely frequent and victims are widespread.

In addition, fraud groups often post low-price promotional sales messages on online platforms, and even claim to give away free items as netizens.

The CIB said that whether fraud group members appear as "buyers" or "sellers," they often use fake third-party transaction platforms as bait. For example, they provide "fake" order links for reputable platforms like 7-11 My-Store Delivery, FamilyMart Good Seller+, or Black Cat Delivery Service, guiding victims to operate on fake websites.

After victims click the link and enter information, the CIB stated that the fraud group will use reasons like "system maintenance," "unregistered guarantee agreement," or "need for financial flow verification" to provide fake customer service Line links, further enticing victims to transfer money or hand over sensitive personal account information.

In Miaoli County, a woman surnamed Lin, in her fifties, saw a "Baishatun Jacket" sales advertisement on Facebook. After agreeing on the price with the seller, she clicked the "FamilyMart Cash on Delivery" link provided by the other party to place an order, but the webpage showed an order failure message. The seller falsely claimed that "real-name authentication" was required, leading her to add a fake "bank official customer service" LINE account.

Subsequently, the fraud group member, under the guise of "canceling order errors," instructed Ms. Lin to transfer about NT$20,000. Later, on the pretext of "refunding money," they lured the victim into sending two bank ATM cards and telling them the passwords. Ms. Lin waited for 5 days without receiving a refund and her cards went missing, only then realizing she had been defrauded and was also at risk of her accounts becoming mule accounts.

Another man surnamed Li from Nantou County encountered a "free gift" trap. He saw a netizen's post on Threads offering a "free iPhone 17 Pro Max." After commenting, he followed the other party's instructions to add Line, claiming they would send it via 7-11 My-Store Delivery. After Mr. Li followed the instructions, the other party claimed "real-name authentication failed" and he needed to contact My-Store Delivery customer service.

Subsequently, the fake customer service claimed that Mr. Li needed to perform financial proof through the "cardless withdrawal" function. He then provided the cardless withdrawal serial number to the other party, until the other party withdrew NT$30,000 and disappeared, only then realizing he had fallen into a carefully designed money trap.

The CIB urged that when online shopping, choose reputable e-commerce platforms with good credit and identity verification mechanisms. Do not click on logistics links from unknown sources, or transfer money or provide personal information based on unverified "customer service" instructions from the other party; anyone who asks you to hand over bank cards, credit cards, ATM cards, or to "cancel authorization" or "verify identity" through ATMs or online banking is engaging in fraud.

At the same time, if the public encounters suspicious situations, please call the 165 anti-fraud hotline for consultation; in addition, the National Police Agency's "165 Anti-Fraud Dashboard" has introduced an AI intelligent customer service assistant, providing real-time URL query function, which can quickly determine whether a website has fraud risk. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150503

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