Recently, Changchun police urgently intervened in a telecom fraud case involving "online deception and offline gold collection." Officers rushed to the victim's home just as he was preparing to leave with over 500 grams of gold to hand over to the scammers.
Confronted by the sudden appearance of the police, Mr. Wang was completely bewildered, having no idea he was in imminent danger. How did this situation unfold? The incident began some time earlier when Mr. Wang, new to the stock market, joined a "stock exchange group" through a social media app. He subsequently received a call from an unfamiliar woman who identified herself with the surname Shan.
Claiming to be an employee of a securities company, she provided her name, employee ID, and detailed information about a "stock recommendation expert." After verifying the expert's identity online, Mr. Wang's guard dropped, and he joined the securities livestream group she invited him to, which displayed over 6,000 members.
Initially, Mr. Wang purchased stocks recommended by the "expert," but ended up losing money. "After holding the stocks for a few days, I lost money," the victim, Mr. Wang, stated. "The group then told me the stock price couldn't be boosted currently, and asked those who incurred losses to report them for reimbursement. I lost over 2,000 yuan, and she actually transferred the money to me."
This "reimbursement" successfully gained Mr. Wang's trust. Several days later, the "stock recommendation expert" in the group claimed to have insider information, offering access to stocks being sold by major shareholders of several listed companies and promising continuous limit-up gains through capital allocation.
Mr. Wang downloaded a specific, non-official trading app as instructed and tentatively invested 10,000 yuan to purchase stocks. Although the fervent atmosphere in the group was enticing, he remained somewhat skeptical, even sending the police's anti-fraud short videos to the contact as a test.
However, the contact deflected by replying that she also frequently participated in anti-fraud campaigns and that financial industry personnel are easily impersonated, which ultimately dispelled Mr. Wang's doubts. He then gathered 500,000 yuan, planning to increase his investment substantially.
"She said bank transfers were not acceptable as they leave traces," Mr. Wang recalled. "For subscribing to shareholder sell-offs, cash was best, but gold was also acceptable. She said I should bring the gold, and they would send someone to collect it. After inspecting the gold on-site, the money would be immediately transferred into the app, into my personal account. She claimed the funds would be transferred first before the staff member left with the gold. I agreed, thinking it was safe."
Through technical investigation, police identified this as an investment scam orchestrated by an overseas fraud syndicate. Approximately 90% of the group members were "actors" following a script specifically designed to deceive the victim.
To prevent Mr. Wang from handing over the gold and suffering an irreversible loss, police devised a two-pronged approach: one team would intercept at the proposed transaction location, while another used big data to pinpoint the victim's exact details. Initially, however, Mr. Wang, deeply ensnared in the scam, did not believe the officers' warnings.
Further police investigation revealed that the seemingly enthusiastic investors in the 6,000-member livestream group were overwhelmingly "actors" or fake, non-human accounts. The frantic rush to buy stocks was merely a carefully orchestrated performance tailored for the victim.
Even after the police's timely intervention, the fraudsters continued contacting Mr. Wang through social media, using various tactics to lure and pressure him into delivering the gold. Following police advice, Mr. Wang deleted the social media app used to communicate with the syndicate and the fake trading application.
The persistence of victims remaining convinced by the scam despite warnings is a major concern for anti-fraud police. Not long ago, while intercepting a gold delivery in a fraud case, Changchun police discovered the female victim was someone they had just saved from a similar scam a few days prior; this woman had been deceived twice within four days.
The scam encountered by Ms. Gao was virtually identical to Mr. Wang's: she met someone online posing as an "insider" from a securities company who claimed to have inside information on "guaranteed profitable" stocks, but required investment via physical gold.
After receiving a tip-off, officers quickly located Ms. Gao, who had just exited a gold store. Merely four days earlier, she had been intercepted by police while attempting to deliver 370,000 yuan in cash to a "courier" hired by an overseas fraud ring in an offline transaction.
Although the previous scam involved virtual currency, the methods were strikingly similar. Why would a victim fall for it again just days later? Police learned that Ms. Gao had previously suffered significant stock market losses, which she hid from her family, and was desperate to recoup her money, leading her to repeatedly fall into fraud traps. The 370,000 yuan in cash was reportedly obtained through online loans.
The courier, surnamed Pan, who was tasked with collecting the cash, was apprehended at the scene. She confessed that her superior was an overseas individual using the online alias "Wang Erju." To prevent her from embezzling the funds, the overseas fraudsters required Pan to wear a chest-mounted camera during the "handover," allowing real-time remote monitoring of the entire transaction via the internet. For each completed job, Pan received a commission of over 1,800 yuan. Pan has now been subjected to criminal compulsory measures by the police.
Police warn that to evade financial supervision, there has been a recent surge in fraud cases demanding offline delivery of cash or gold. This "online fraud + offline collection" model is disguised within various investment schemes like stock trading, fund purchases, or virtual currency speculation, aiming to bypass banking monitoring systems for suspicious fund flows. Once cash or gold changes hands, recovery is extremely difficult.
Regarding these prevalent scams, authorities emphasize key prevention points: First, do not readily trust self-proclaimed online stock market gurus or investment experts recommending specific methods, such as using certain apps for trading, participating in IPO subscriptions with promises of doubling your money, as these are typically fraudulent tactics used in the initial stages. Second, any request to deliver cash, hand over gold, or mail gold to someone else is entirely fraudulent. Third, avoid downloading any non-official investment apps, as these are crucial tools for scammers, and all content within them is fabricated.
Racing against time, police in Weihai, Shandong Province, successfully intercepted nearly 90,000 yuan involved in a fraud case within 90 minutes. Promises of high returns and "insider information" are common baits used in these telecom fraud schemes.
On December 17, 2025, the Weihai Public Security Bureau's Anti-Fraud Center received an urgent alert indicating that resident Ms. Liu was likely experiencing a fake investment scam and was preparing for a large cash transaction. Officers arrived to find Ms. Liu clutching her phone, nervously following instructions from the person on the other end of the line.
Initially, she was very resistant to the police's intervention. However, after officers explained the situation using actual case examples, Ms. Liu gradually realized she was being defrauded. She revealed that two weeks prior, she had met a stranger online who lured her with promises of high returns, recommending a fake investment website and诱导ing her to deliver cash offline. Ms. Liu had already withdrawn 89,000 yuan and scheduled the transaction for that afternoon.
"Towards evening, a man who deliberately concealed his face arrived at the scene, behaving nervously," said Hou Jiye, an officer from the Yangting Police Station of the Huancui Branch of the Weihai Public Security Bureau. "We decisively moved to apprehend him, gaining control on the spot, and found a customized mobile phone specifically used for fraudulent activities on his person."
Currently, the suspect, surnamed Wang, has been subjected to criminal compulsory measures by the police, and the case is under further investigation. "Fraudsters use various means to gain trust, catering to the desire for high returns, and set up fake applications and websites to carry out scams," said Liu Yanjun, Deputy Head of the New Crime Investigation Unit of the Weihai Public Security Bureau's Criminal Police Detachment. "We urge the public not to believe in get-rich-quick schemes and to remain vigilant at all times."
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