The Taichung District Prosecutors Office recently indicted 18 people believed to be part of a fraud ring that impersonated Chinese security officers to defraud Hong Kongers, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said today.
The suspects were indicted on charges of fraud, money laundering and organized crime, the CIB said in a statement.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times
The bureau said it had received reports of a scam ring that tricked victims into transferring money by falsely claiming their personal information had been stolen and used in criminal activities, and therefore required their assets to be placed under monitoring.
After an investigation, the CIB said it found that the scam ring was led by a man in his 30s surnamed Huang (黃).
Huang instructed members to pose as Chinese prosecutors or police officers, spoof phone numbers to appear as those of police stations in China and use artificial intelligence-generated video calls to defraud victims before laundering the proceeds through cryptocurrency, the CIB said.
The bureau did not say whether the fraud ring contacted Hong Kongers living in Taiwan or in Hong Kong, but local media said they targeted those living in Hong Kong.
In June last year, a task force commanded by the Taichung District Prosecutors' Office and formed by police and CIB officers raided two call centers of the fraud ring and arrested 17 people, which included first-line, second-line and third-line scammers, as well as other key figures.
Evidence including cell phones, computers, fake uniforms, fake badges and fake security slogans were also seized.
After continuous tracking, the task force then arrested Huang in early December last year, the CIB said.
The operation scammed nearly 100 Hong Kongers since its establishment last year, with illegal gains totaling NT$30 million (US$953,031), the bureau said.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS