BELLEVUE- Scammers Target Local Chinese Residents

The Bellevue Police Department says that callers claiming to be Chinese law enforcement officers told unsuspecting victims that they were unknowing participants in a fraud scheme, identity theft or major crime incident. Victims lost between $325,800 and over $1 million and were young people in their 20’s and 30’s who appeared to be targeted for their economic status.

The scammers, who contacted their victims by phone or online, demanded sensitive identification documents including social security numbers, copies of passports, tax forms, and fingerprint scans. The scammers demanded large sums of money to prevent arrest or having assets frozen,

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has warned citizens of a variety of scams that target Chinese Americans. In one scam, a caller, claiming to be from an insurance claims department, asks if the victim has had a surgery in China. When the victim says no, they are told that someone filed a fraudulent claim in the victim’s name and then is transferred to another scammer who claims to be a police officer and who offers to file a police report, all an effort to get personal information from the victim.

Another scam has scammers posing as Chinese consulate employees who say that there is a package at the consulate for the victim. The scammer claims the package has been tied to a criminal investigation. The victim can clear up this situation by a money transfer or a credit card payment.

Bellevue police recommend looking out for the following red flags of a scam. The scammer:

·         Tries to use social media to gain your trust

·         Pretends to be from an organization that you know

·         Says there’s a problem or a prize

·         Pressures you to act immediately

·         Tells you to pay in a specific way

·         Tells you not to call police

The Bellevue Police Department report shows that scammers will target anyone for a scam and even in some cases tailor scams to specific ethnic groups.

It also shows that anyone of any age can be victimized by a scammer. While most people think of the elderly when you talk about scams, the bulk of the reports for the Chinese scam in Bellevue were 20- and 30-year-olds. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) keeps a running total of the ages of scam victims and how much money that they reported to have lost. The chart consistently shows that younger people report fraud to the FTC more than older people. And while fewer older people report being scammed, older people tend to lose more money on average than younger people. The most striking age group are the 80 and over who report the fewest scams (except for teenagers), 23.34 fraud loss per 100K of population, while on average losing the most per incident, $1,900.