Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) urged people to be aware of telephone scams ahead of Mother’s Day, as many people are expected to be purchasing gifts online, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday.
Chiang and Taipei City Police Department Commissioner Chang Jung-hsing (張榮興) recently spoke with the city government’s Taipei Broadcasting Station about raising awareness of fraud and scams ahead of Mother’s Day on Sunday.
During the interview, Chiang talked about his friends and relatives who have been scammed, and told people to remember three tips to prevent phone scams: listen, hang up and fact-check.
Photo: CNA
The National Police Agency tips ask people to first listen for keywords, such as the caller claiming that the person they contacted is suspected of being involved in a criminal act, a victim of identity theft or mistakenly enrolled in a payment installment plan. They might also ask their target to buy online gift cards.
The second step is to hang up immediately after hearing a keyword to avoid giving the caller a chance to keep the scam going.
The third step is to fact-check the call by contacting the government’s 165 anti-fraud hotline to check if the phone number is legitimate, or to report it.
The Taipei City Police Department has received more than 500 reports of phone scams this year, Chang said, adding that it has led to losses of more than NT$99 million (US$3.22 million).
A recent common scam is a caller pretending to be a representative of an online retailer to discuss a product the person they contacted bought, and claiming that the company mistakenly enrolled them in a payment installment plan and needed their help to cancel it, he said.
The interview is to be broadcast today at 10:20am on FM93.1, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said.
Separately, when asked about Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) remarks that each city and county should build a small modular nuclear reactor, Chiang said he would not comment on personal opinions, adding that it was good if Gou’s comments can spark a discussion on the issue.
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