The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) urged the public to refrain from making payments using unfamiliar methods when buying things on the Internet to avoid revealing their personal information to scammers.
Citing a recent spike in reports of online scams, the bureau said that people who prefer making online purchases must exercise extra caution ahead of today’s Singles’ Day, an annual online sales event that originated in China.
One example is a designer surnamed Lu (呂) who at the end of September purchased three music festival tickets for NT$6,000 from a member of a Facebook club where people exchange concert tickets, the bureau said.
The scammer suggested that Lu use Chunghwa Post’s iBox, which serves as a pickup site for package deliveries, before asking him to provide his mobile phone number, date of birth, the last four digits of his identification number and post office bank account details, it said.
With no knowledge of how to use iBox, Lu followed the steps given by the scammer to activate the service, including sending pictures of his credit card information, the bureau said.
The scammer sent another text, claiming it was sent from the bank that issued the card, which said that as a few tests had to be run on the card, Lu would receive verification codes for test transactions and that the bank would need them for verification, it said.
Lu grew suspicious after he had sent more than seven verification codes to the scammer and received multiple records of transactions from the real issuing bank, the bureau said, adding that he lost more than NT$40,000.
People should not use unfamiliar transaction methods on the Internet, or provide personal information, it said, adding that verification codes received during any transaction processes should be kept private.
People can call 165 to contact the Anti-Fraud and Internet Scam Hotline if they encounter a suspicious situation, it added.
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