DAPENG police recently busted a telecommunications scam ring that involved 20 million yuan (US$2.95 million).

More than 1,000 people in the country were cheated in the small-loan scam.

On Nov. 29, a resident surnamed Liu reported to police that he had received a call from a man who claimed to be an employee of a bank that could provide loans. As Liu was in need of money, he added the WeChat contact and filled out his personal information and loan amount on a website that he accessed by scanning a QR code.

The website showed that his loan application had been approved, but required Liu to withdraw the loan through the website and input his PIN. Liu followed the instructions and transferred 6,180 yuan in commission fees to the designated accounts before he found he was unable to get the loan through the website.

Police set up a task force and, after the investigation, a criminal ring in Longyan, Fujian Province, was exposed.

The ring members posted small loan advertisements online to coax victims into submitting their personal information and pretended to offer loans of between 20,000 and 200,000 yuan after they contacted the victims via QQ or WeChat.

If the victims wanted the loans, they would be guided to the trap website and charged fees to process the loan applications.

Dapeng police caught six of the suspects in Longyan and seized 760,000 yuan in cash. A total of 58 bank cards and 16 mobile phones used in the scam were also seized.

The preliminary investigation revealed the scam involved 20 million yuan.

(Han Ximin)