The Criminal Investigation Bureau on Sunday warned of an increase in scams disguised as advertisements promising profitable stock investments.
These advertisements on social media entice people by using the photographs of prominent figures — such as Hsieh Chin-ho (謝金河), chairman of Investment Media, which publishes the Business Today and Wealth magazines — claiming they endorse the incvestment schemes, the bureau said in a release.
Other figures used include Sophie Chang (張淑芬), the wife of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co founder Morris Chang (張忠謀); Chen Ning-guan (陳凝觀), the host of Era Money (年代向錢看) on Next TV; and Daisy Chiu (邱沁宜), the host of Sunday Money Party (財經週日趴) on Formosa TV, the bureau said.
Photo: Screen grab from the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Facebook page
In one case, a Taipei resident in his 40s surnamed Hsu (許) saw an advert on Facebook featuring a photograph of Sophie Chang, saying that she was promoting making a profit from stocks, it said.
Hsu joined a Line group chat where one financial adviser recommended a series of investment courses, the bureau said, adding that Hsu signed up to a Web site that gave instructions on which stocks to buy and when to sell.
In September, when Hsu wanted to collect his profits, the financial adviser immediately cut off contact, and Hsu realized he had been scammed for the past seven months, the bureau said.
Hsu lost more than NT$2 million (US$63,869), it said.
Bureau officials said they had worked with platform operators to remove the fraudulent advertising.
The bureau investigated 1,601 cases of investment fraud from January to October, 149 more than same period last year, the officials said, adding that 14,445 suspected fraudsters were arrested, a year-on-year increase of 1,554.
They said that NT$4.05 billion in illegal profits associated with these cases had been confiscated, compared with the NT$1.337 billion confiscated over the same period last year.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS