Chinese extortion scam
Police are urging members of the Chinese community to be vigilant with a sophisticated extortion scam targeting Chinese nationals in Australia.
In one particular case last month, a Chinese tourist in Cairns was contacted by scammers claiming to be Chinese government officials.
The scammers claimed the tourist was implicated in crimes and demanding large sums of money, while simultaneously his family in China were sent photos of him appearing to have been kidnapped and demanding a ransom.
While there has only been one case of this particularly complex scam in Queensland, it is a timely reminder for all Queenslanders to be vigilant of the risk posed by cyber crimes and scams.
It is important to always report any crimes to police or attempted scams to Scamwatch.
The Queensland Police Service treats this type of criminal activity take very seriously and work alongside federal agencies to protect the community from these incidents.
Police are also reminding members of the public to take care with their privacy on social media with criminal groups often using social media channels to gather information on potential victims.
If you believe that you are being targeted by this kind of activity or have information for police, contact PoliceLink on 131 444 or report it to ScamWatch.
You can report information anonymously to Crime Stoppers by calling 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld.com.au
