Elderly people may be perceived as being the most vulnerable to fraud schemes, but police statistics show that young urban women are actually the most likely to fall prey to tricksters.
According to statistics compiled by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), 41,093 cases of fraud were reported last year, with police managing to help intercept money transfers worth a total of NT$283.07 million (US$8.45 million) in 1,807 such cases.
online shopping
Among the reported incidents, 54 percent, or 39,381 cases, involved personal online shopping information being fraudulently leaked.
Another 13,289 cases, or 18 percent of the total, involved fraud committed by people disguised as law enforcement officers.
The CIB tallies also show that 2,183 people fell victim to online interactive dating fraud, of whom 90 percent were urban women in their 20s and 30s, with 20-somethings accounting for 51 percent.
disguised
Having people put up money to win big prizes was the fourth most common type of fraud, with 3,667 cases, or 5 percent of the total, followed by 3,262 cases of fraud, or 4 percent, involving swindling by people disguised as relatives.
Other reported fraud cases involved 1,182 lending scams, 503 fake kidnappings, 332 fraudulent employment schemes, 312 schemes manipulated by con artists, and 54 cases of forcible seizure of vehicles to extort money.
With the number of Internet users increasing rapidly, online shopping and dating fraud has become rampant, CIB officials said.
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