2018年CRI Chinese citizens in Australia warned against telecom fraud

Chinese citizens in Australia warned against telecom fraud

An increasing number of Chinese citizens in Australia have fallen victim to a telecom fraud in which phone scammers are impersonating Chinese consulate¹ staff. The fraud has so far caused losses worth about 10 million Australian dollars or 7.5 million US dollars in Sydney alone since last August. China's Consulate General in Sydney and the New South Wales police are urging Chinese citizens to be aware of any fraudulent calls. More details from our Australia correspondent Qi Zhi.

Since August 2017, the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney and Australian police have received reports about Chinese citizens getting phone calls by people claiming to be attached with Chinese diplomatic missions or Chinese police.

During these calls people have been tricked into believing that they are in trouble with Chinese authorities and need to pay money as fines, or in order to slow or stop prosecution² against them.

In some cases the fraudsters display the phone numbers of the Chinese embassy or Consulate General in Australia. In other cases people have been transferred to China-based telephone numbers as the fraud is continued by people pretending to be Chinese police.

At a media briefing on Monday, China's Deputy Consul-General in Sydney Tong Xuejun said the fraud is a serious situation.

"Our data shows there've been more than 1000 cases in which people contacted us to report a telecom fraud since August 2017. We have confirmed about 40 cases that caused a loss. The total amount of money involved is about 10 million Australian dollars."

The Vice³ Consul-General adds that the money lost ranged from 2,000 dollars to 3.5 million in one single case, while half of the victims were Chinese students studying in Australia.

A typical fraud call would see the scammer tell the victims they suspect they are involved in a crime, for example money laundering⁴ or embezzlement⁵, and to avoid jail or deportation⁶ they need to pay a large sum of money for bail⁷ or to get a so-called "priority investigation⁸" to clear their name. Detective Sergeant⁹ David Gates from the New South Wales police is urging Chinese citizens to be wary¹⁰ of such fraudulent calls.

"The New South Wales police would like to let the Chinese people know that the Chinese embassy or the Chinese Consulate General never call Chinese citizens to inform them to renew their passport, and never require them to provide their personal information such as bank account information; they do not ask money to be transferred to bank accounts or involve themselves in Chinese criminal investigations¹¹."

Roland Winter from the Sydney City Fraud Unit under the NSW police warns people to never disclose any personal data to anyone who calls you up out of the blue.

"The most important thing - and this message should be sent out to everyone - is do not send any money, because if you do, you will not get any money back. It's very difficult to retrieve¹² any money that you have sent to an account that may be offshore¹³ and it's very difficult to identify where those funds were sent to."

The fraudsters are believed to be operating from both Australia and China, and Australian police are currently working with their Chinese counterparts in an ongoing¹⁴ investigation.

Similar cases have also been reported in countries like the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, where the scammers are targeting mostly new immigrants and students from China.

For CRI, this is Qi Zhi, reporting from Sydney, Australia.

1 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

2 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 embezzlement   

n.盗用，贪污

参考例句：

• He was accused of graft and embezzlement and was chained and thrown into prison.他因被指控贪污盗窃而锒铛入狱。
• The judge sent him to prison for embezzlement of funds.法官因他盗用公款将其送入监牢。

6 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

7 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

10 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

11 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

12 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

13 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

14 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。