New Cross-Border Fraud Tactic Uncovered In Beijing: Victims Forced To Launder 780,000 Yuan Via Crypto Exchange
In Brief
Beijing police froze 780,000 yuan in a cross-border scam where fraudsters posing as police coerced Chinese students and families abroad into laundering funds via cryptocurrency.
Beijing’s Shijingshan District police have intercepted a sophisticated cross-border telecom fraud operation, freezing 780,000 yuan in illicit funds and returning the money to victims. The case, disclosed on September 24, reveals an evolved form of the classic “impersonating law enforcement” scam that specifically targets Chinese citizens living abroad, including students and accompanying family members.
The investigation began with an anti-fraud alert concerning a 53-year-old Beijing resident, identified by the surname Liu, who was staying abroad as a family companion. Although Liu initially denied being deceived, his relatives in China reported that he had urgently requested large money transfers without explaining their purpose. Police traced the fund flows and found that the money Liu received was quickly split into multiple transfers to two unfamiliar personal accounts, both held by Chinese students studying overseas.
After persistent investigation, one of the students, a woman located outside China, acknowledged that she had been contacted by callers posing as Chinese police officers. The scammers falsely claimed she was implicated in a criminal case and demanded payment of bail money while coercing her to cooperate with a fabricated online investigation. More than 800,000 yuan was transferred into her account by the fraudsters, who then threatened and induced her to exchange the funds for USDT stablecoins through a third-party payment platform, effectively converting her into a tool for laundering criminal proceeds.
Police determined that Liu and both students were victims of the same criminal group. The scheme displayed the emerging characteristics of “multiple scams within a single case, with victims serving as money laundering channels for one another”: fraudsters exploited the accounts of several victims abroad to move illicit funds through layered transfers, greatly complicating tracing and detection. After a week of intervention and explanation of the case details, officers successfully persuaded Liu and the two students to recognize the deception, while the fund interception mechanism allowed the frozen 780,000 yuan to be returned to Liu.
Fake Arrest Warrants and Psychological Pressure: How the Trap Worked
According to case investigators, Liu had been abroad for only a month when he received a call from scammers claiming that someone had used his identity to obtain a foreign phone number at an airport in a southern Chinese city and had used it to mass-send over a thousand illegal messages. The call was transferred to a supposed provincial police hotline, where fraudsters staged fake law enforcement scenarios during video calls and fabricated a case alleging that Liu was involved in an international fraud ring and had laundered more than 5 million yuan through bank cards in his name.
The criminals maintained daily video contact to “update” him on the fictitious investigation, applied sustained psychological pressure, and produced forged arrest documents demanding over 1 million yuan in bail to clear his name. Compared with traditional scams impersonating police, prosecutors, or courts, investigators note that this variant is far more deceptive and damaging: it defrauds multiple victims in a single operation, coerces some of them into becoming laundering instruments, and moves funds across several countries through complex transaction chains.
Police have issued a warning to Chinese students and family members overseas: any unsolicited call claiming that one’s phone number or bank cards are linked to criminal activity, and demanding online cooperation, bail payments, or deposits, is a telecom fraud attempt. Authorities advise against trusting unknown callers, making online transfers, or disclosing personal account information, and urge anyone encountering suspicious contact to verify immediately with family in China or by calling the emergency number 110.
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About The Author
Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in crypto, AI, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
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Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in crypto, AI, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
