Call 110 or 96110 right away to have the money stopped when you find you were scammed; don't investigate on your own first
- Top value
- Evidence A
- Saves money
- Free
- Takes minutes
- No willpower
In plain words
The short stretch right after the money leaves your account is the only window. During this time the police can issue an emergency payment stop and a quick freeze, and the bank must cooperate. Once the money has been moved on through layer after layer of accounts and split up, it is almost impossible to get back. So call 110 or 96110 (the national anti-fraud warning hotline) first, and don't start looking into it or asking around on your own. When 96110 calls you, it is the police trying to talk you out of a transfer, so pick up.
Mentioned in
- Teach your child one sentence: anyone who tells you to use a parent's phone or read out a verification code is a scammer
- Remember the hard rules against fraud: don't trust incoming calls, don't give out information, don't click links, double-check before any transfer; the seven most common scams all have this shape
- Don't treat a face on video or a voice on the phone as verification; hang up before any transfer and call back on an old number from your own contacts
- Get a case-acceptance receipt on the spot when you report to the police, and a written notice if they decline to open a case: you can apply for reconsideration within 7 days and review within another 7, and the procuratorate can direct the police to open the case
- Anyone claiming to be the tax bureau and pressing you to pay or file is a scammer; handle taxes only through the e-tax bureau and 12366
- Before paying someone to run your online shop, taking a shop-opening course, or doing "no-inventory" selling, ask whether more money will be demanded later and where the sales will come from
- If your card is used without your consent, report it lost and freeze it first, then call the police, and then demand that the bank pay you back: proving "you swiped it yourself" is the bank's burden
- Stay away from any "invest for your retirement" scheme that asks an older person to pay first: cards, beds, retirement apartments, travel-retirement and senior products are all the same illegal fund-raising
- Apart from the insurance companies' reverse-mortgage eldercare insurance on a home, stay away from every other "live off your home" scheme, and never mortgage a home to buy financial products
Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 8, tip 2. This section describes legal rules, mostly mainland China’s. It is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, talk to a lawyer. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer