Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), wants to let Chinese students know of a scam being perpetrated across the country where scammers impersonate Chinese police officers with the intent of defrauding members of the Chinese community living in the United States.
According to the FBI, the scammers:
- Contact the victim by phone, claiming that their personal information is linked to a financial fraud investigation;
- Transfer the phone call to what they claim to be the “Chinese police department”;
- Pose as a Chinese police officer and inform the victim that they are under investigation and must return to China or face arrest and/or a trial;
- Direct the victim to consent to 24/7 video and audio monitoring;
- Instruct the victim to avoid discussing details of the case, refrain from conducting internet searches on the case, and report all of their daily activities; and
- Direct victims to wire a large sum of money to a Chinese bank account to either prove their innocence or to post bail to avoid having to return to China.
To protect yourself, please take the following steps:
- If an unknown individual contacts you and accuses you of a crime, immediately call the FBI or DPS. Do NOT release any personal or financial information and do not send any money.
- If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from a government agency, take down the name, title and contact information of the caller or email. Take steps to verify the contact by using public sources (internet) to locate the official government agency and then contact the agency yourself to confirm whether the outreach is legitimate.
If you have received one of these phone calls, the best thing you can do is immediately contact the FBI or DPS.