My brush with a scam, thanks to 'Section Chief Liu'

When the phone rang at 9 am, I had no clue of the series of events that would follow. I heard a recorded message: "You have a summons issued by the Huzhou City Intermediary People's Court relayed by the Shanghai Municipal Intermediary People's Court. Press nine to learn the details."

I'd never been summoned by a court and the message gave me goose bumps. I pressed nine and heard a man speaking in a dialect typical of southern Fujian province. He said he was an official of the court in Huzhou (which I later realized is a city in northern Zhejiang province) and told me that I had opened an account at a bank there on Feb 16.

He added that I had two overdrafts, and the court had issued a summons to the address mentioned on my temporary residence card. But the summons had been returned. "The court session will begin at 4 pm today. You must be here," he said.

I was dumbfounded and felt dizzy. "I haven't set foot in Fuzhou in the past 10 years," I exclaimed.

The man calmly reassured me and said he would transfer the call to the Huzhou Public Security Bureau, so I could report the case.

Another man, with that same southern Fujian dialect, came on the line. He said with iron coldness: "Answer my questions with a 'yes' or 'no'. What you say will be used as evidence. Time of recording the statement: 10 am, June 16, 2009. Police officer Chen Mingqing, police badge number ... "

It all sounded so real and I could have never guessed that it was all an elaborate scam.

He interrogated me about my name, ID card, profession and bank accounts. Then he announced that my private information had somehow been leaked and a criminal suspect named Wang Qiang had been doing money laundering with my accounts. In just two months, I had overdrafts of 2.16 million yuan, he said.

I collapsed.

Officer Chen offered me his condolences, then turned me over to Section Chief Liu Jie who, you guessed it, spoke the same dialect. He told me I needn't hurry to Huzhou, as they could "monitor my accounts". In other words, I was to transfer all my money to the account of the court prosecutor. Then, they could find out if I had really made the overdrafts.

But the officer's next question snapped me into full attention: "How much time do you need to reach the closest bank from your home?"

"Do you mean that I should transfer all my money to your account?" I asked.

"We'll transfer your money back in an hour."

"How can I believe you are the police?"

"Look at the dialer's number on your phone, it is the Huzhou Public Security Bureau. Go ahead and check."

I dialed 114 (directory assistance) on my mobile and found that, indeed, that was true. Then I took one more step: "Could you please get me Section Chief Liu Jie?" I asked the operator.

"He called you? That's a scam," said the operator and hung up impatiently.

I threw down my mobile and hurried to the landline, shouting: "You psycho!" However, I regretted it. I should have asked: "Chief Liu, exactly how many times have you succeeded?"

The real officer at the real public security bureau informed me that the scam had been going on for two years.

The story first appeared on Southern People Weekly