Chinese Phone Scams Infiltrate Australia, Impersonating Law Enforcement with Increasingly Sophisticated Tactics

(Central News Agency, Sydney, 9th – Special Dispatch) Australian public broadcaster ABC reported yesterday that Chinese phone scam rings have infiltrated Australia, defrauding victims by impersonating law enforcement officers. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched a wave of awareness campaigns, urging the public to be vigilant against scammers' tactics.

The ACCC received over 1,200 reports of phone scams impersonating Chinese law enforcement last year. ACCC Deputy Chair Katrina Lowe stated that the practice of impersonating law enforcement has been around for years, but scammers' methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Lowe noted that a small number of reports involved scam ring members physically appearing before victims in Australia while wearing uniforms.

"We are seeing scammers using technology and psychological manipulation extremely effectively to lure victims into their criminal traps," Lowe said.

According to ABC, New South Wales (NSW) police arrested a 24-year-old Chinese national in Sydney last year, who was later transferred to Queensland. She was reported for allegedly impersonating an official to defraud international students in Australia. NSW police stated that the scammers threatened to deport victims and coerced them into handing over money and opening bank accounts. The case has been referred for legal proceedings.

The report also featured a victim of a Chinese phone scam, Justin (pseudonym), who received a call in December last year from someone claiming to be from the Australian Consulate-General in Hong Kong. The caller claimed that a phone account had been registered in Justin's name and used to send scam text messages to multiple Australians. They then threatened that this case could affect Justin's right to enter and leave China, and even the validity of his passport.

Justin said the call was then transferred to a department claiming to be the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, which informed him that he was involved in a money laundering case.

"The way they informed me was very authoritarian," Justin said. During a video call via Microsoft Teams, the scammers showed him a warrant document, claiming it was a case previously reported by ABC. The scammers asserted that the ABC report indicated Australian law enforcement agencies, including the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), were cooperating with Shanghai police on the case.

"I felt a mix of fear, shock, confusion, and doubt. I kept thinking, how could this happen?" Justin said. He also mentioned being required to stay online on Microsoft Teams with his camera on at all times, even while sleeping.

Justin made multiple transfers totaling nearly AUD 140,000 (approximately TWD 3.12 million) before realizing it was a scam and reporting it to his bank and the police.

The Australian government issued a press release on May 28 stating that between October and December 2025, Australian telecom companies blocked approximately 109.9 million scam calls and 41.1 million scam text messages. Phone scams have caused losses amounting to billions of Australian dollars. (Editor: Wei Shu)