The Taipei City Government must investigate a rise in scams targeting people who have entered the Taipei Marathon, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Chen E-jun (陳怡君) said on Tuesday.
The marathon is scheduled for Sunday.
Thirty-nine entrants have been defrauded of about NT$2 million (US$71,932) between them by scammers, who seem to have accessed their contact information, Chen said in a news release.
Photo: CNA
Earlier on Tuesday, an entrant who works in Beitou District (北投) complained to Chen’s office after losing NT$30,000 to a fake event organizer, she said, adding that it was the latest in a series of similar reports.
The scammer telephoned the entrant and asked that money be transfered, saying that the initial marathon entry fee did not go through due to an error, she said.
The person made seven transfers via Internet banking and ATMs before realizing that they had been duped, she said, adding that NT$140,000 would have been lost if the victim did not ask their bank to freeze the payments.
On Friday, another entrant complained to her office after losing about NT$100,000 to a person purporting to be a representative of the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association, Chen said.
“The Taipei Marathon is an important athletic event of the city and the Taipei Sports Department is one of the main organizers, but [officials] were totally ignorant of the scams,” she said.
Although organizers told her that the police had been informed, her office continues to receive new reports about the scheme, Chen said.
Taipei sports officials must investigate the source of the data breach, provide financial compensation to those affected and alert people who have entered the marathon about the scam, she said.
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