Overview
- NSW Police said Friday that four Sydney victims lost nearly $800,000 this month to callers posing as Chinese authorities.
- Scammers contact targets on phones and WeChat, switch them between fake operators, demand money or cryptocurrency, and tell them to delete chat and call records.
- Reported losses include more than $400,000 from a 22-year-old woman, $301,000 from a 23-year-old man, $80,000 from a 21-year-old woman, and $7,200 from a 20-year-old student.
- Tactics have included impostors claiming to be from a Chinese health insurer or Victoria’s Health Department before handing the call to a supposed police investigator.
- Reports have surged in Sydney’s inner city, south and east, and police urge people to hang up on such calls and report them to the National Anti‑Scam Centre.