Quite a few lawmakers have recently received scam messages on Facebook, which said that “the prosecutor has been secretly investigating your spending on assistant hiring,” and attached a QR code linked to a closed social media group, saying that it could provide help to hide the money flow.
This fake-prosecutor story has become scammers’ newest trick, and its victims even include veteran actress Tan Ai-chen (譚艾珍), who was made to believe that to assist a police investigation, she must abide by the principle of “secrecy of criminal investigation,” and ended up with transferring money to the scammers without first discussing it with anyone, even her family. Fortunately, thanks to the police’s proactive moves to spot the potential victims and swift action, Tan was prevented from making further withdrawals and payments.
Fraud continues to evolve, using all kinds of innovative techniques. Given the challenge, how should we protect ourselves and do our part in the fight against fraud?
In fact, despite the secrecy of a criminal investigation, no judicial authority would tell you privately that it is investigating you and ask you to “transfer money to a supervised bank account,” or ask you not to tell your family about it. Rhetoric like this is a typical sign of fraud. Once you come across such a situation, you should go to the police or call the 165 hotline.
“Whenever there is someone who claims to be a prosecutor contacting you, it is a fraud,” wrote actress and writer Gin Oy (歐陽靖), Tan’s daughter, in her Facebook post. It is indeed the key concept for protecting yourself from fraud.
The main reason global fraud losses remain high is the rampant scam messages on social media. In the past, the “fake prosecutors” and “guess who I am” fake friend call scams were mostly carried out via text message or phone call.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau once caught a scam gang that was found to have spent NT$100 million (US$3,064,571) in mobile phone credit on fraud text messages. Another crime syndicate used AI voice robots to first make test phone calls to select vulnerable people, then follow up with scam text messages. Now these tricks have been transferred to social media.
Not only should the telecom industry play a part in anti-fraud operations to screen out the fraudulent communications, social media should also actively block posts that are obviously scams.
As for the individuals, when hearing key phrases like “do not tell others about it for the sake of secrecy of criminal investigation,” or “supervised bank account,” you should sound the alarm and return to reality, and then go to the police or call the 165 hotline for advice — these actions do not violate investigative secrecy.
If you encounter “little secrets that cannot be told” on the Internet or other platforms, you need to seek the help of the police — just go to the nearest police station. Police officers should be empathetic, patient and attentive to help people dispel their fears or illusions.
Lin Shu-li is a police officer.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
As the new year dawns, Taiwan faces a range of external uncertainties that could impact the safety and prosperity of its people and reverberate in its politics. Here are a few key questions that could spill over into Taiwan in the year ahead. WILL THE AI BUBBLE POP? The global AI boom supported Taiwan’s significant economic expansion in 2025. Taiwan’s economy grew over 7 percent and set records for exports, imports, and trade surplus. There is a brewing debate among investors about whether the AI boom will carry forward into 2026. Skeptics warn that AI-led global equity markets are overvalued and overleveraged
An elderly mother and her daughter were found dead in Kaohsiung after having not been seen for several days, discovered only when a foul odor began to spread and drew neighbors’ attention. There have been many similar cases, but it is particularly troubling that some of the victims were excluded from the social welfare safety net because they did not meet eligibility criteria. According to media reports, the middle-aged daughter had sought help from the local borough warden. Although the warden did step in, many services were unavailable without out-of-pocket payments due to issues with eligibility, leaving the warden’s hands
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday announced that she would dissolve parliament on Friday. Although the snap election on Feb. 8 might appear to be a domestic affair, it would have real implications for Taiwan and regional security. Whether the Takaichi-led coalition can advance a stronger security policy lies in not just gaining enough seats in parliament to pass legislation, but also in a public mandate to push forward reforms to upgrade the Japanese military. As one of Taiwan’s closest neighbors, a boost in Japan’s defense capabilities would serve as a strong deterrent to China in acting unilaterally in the
Taiwan last week finally reached a trade agreement with the US, reducing tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent, without stacking them on existing levies, from the 20 percent rate announced by US President Donald Trump’s administration in August last year. Taiwan also became the first country to secure most-favored-nation treatment for semiconductor and related suppliers under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act. In return, Taiwanese chipmakers, electronics manufacturing service providers and other technology companies would invest US$250 billion in the US, while the government would provide credit guarantees of up to US$250 billion to support Taiwanese firms
RSS