Victim of twisted phone scam convinced to hide from police, swindled of 1.8 million yuan

Source:Global Times Published: 2014-4-16 22:53:02

An elaborate phone scam in Zhejiang Province ended with its victim convinced the cops were chasing him long after he was swindled out of 1.8 million yuan ($289,300).

Police finally tracked down the man, surnamed Li, 24, hiding in a Hangzhou hotel room Monday after family members reported him as missing.

"Don't arrest me, I'm innocent," said Li, handing the phone to the police officers. "Listen, I'm still talking to procuratorate officials from Shanghai."

Li claimed to have first received a call from a man who claimed his Internet service would be cut, and provided him with a number to call.

This eventually led to a series of phone calls with a man identifying himself as a Shanghai police official, who implicated Li as a prime suspect in a fraud ring.

Li said that in order to avoid prosecution, he was asked to buy a new cell phone, open a bank account and check in to a hotel. The police imposter then said to deposit cash in a specified bank account, after which he was given a counterfeit electronic receipt from a make-believe court website.

Li's father alerted police when he noticed four bank transfers on his bank statement to an unknown account. After four days, he reported his son kidnapped.

"He called but sounded very strange. Someone must have been standing next to him," the father told police on Sunday after receiving a call from his son. Li also claimed to have borrowed a total 250,000 yuan from a dozen friends.

A total 129 fraud cases were reported in Hangzhou during the first quarter of 2014, involving 3.65 million yuan.

Hangzhou Daily

Posted in: Odd News

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