Police warn Chinese students at Lancaster University about scams after ‘virtual kidnaps’ for money and telephone fraud

In the UK this year police have received a number of reports of frauds involving Chinese student victims.

This has included telephone fraud and other people being asked to hand over their bank account details for criminals to launder proceeds of serious crimes.

Other issues have included ‘virtual kidnaps’, where students are forced by fraudsters to fake kidnaps and ask families for money in China to secure their freedom.

Det Ch Insp John Roy, of Lancashire Police’s Serious Organised Crime Team, said: “We must stress in Lancashire we have received little in terms of reports, however, we want people, students and University staff to remain vigilant.

“The UK is a great place to study and the vast majority of students in the UK enjoy a positive, life-changing experience. However, a small number of students are falling for telecoms fraud scams and others are being asked to hand over their bank account details to criminals to launder proceeds of serious crimes.

“Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police. They spend hours researching you for their scams, hoping you’ll let your guard down for just a moment – don’t let this happen to you.”

If you think you’ve fallen for a scam report it to ACTION FRAUD by calling 03001232040 or online at: https://orlo.uk/BtYkg . You can also contact Consular Services at the Chinese Embassy in the UK on: +44-20-74368294.