Criminals are using the government’s planned stimulus voucher program as a pretense to steal personal information online, a Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) official said yesterday.
The bureau found that a Web site claimed to provide people with NT$5,000 in exchange for NT$1,000, after providing information such as their national identification number, address and credit card number, CIB Crime Prevention Division head Chen Jui-chi (陳瑞基) said.
After the issuance of Triple Stimulus Vouchers last year, various criminal enterprises appeared online, targeting people with auctions, discounts or assistance in paying for expensive items, Chen said.
The government is to issue Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers worth NT$5,000 next month.
“For this one and other previous online scams, individuals are asked to wire a small amount of money to earn a high return. In this scheme, the criminals say they would give the victim NT$5,000 for NT$1,000. Others work through fraudulent auctions and sales. After wiring the money, the proprietor usually disappears,” Chen said.
Chen said that people should watch out for such scams in the coming weeks.
“People should not respond to messages from strangers or unknown sources, not follow scammer’s instructions to wire money and never register personal information with them,” he said.
A common fishing tactic used by fraudsters involves sending a text message claiming that there had been a mistake in a money transfer or a registration, and requesting that the target respond to verify their identity or initiate another money transfer, Chen said.
“This tactic is designed to get a person to open an unknown Web site or join a social media group, where their information would be hijacked or malware or viruses would be installed to take over a cellphone’s operating system and steal private data or credit card numbers,” he said.
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