With the development of technology, communication between people has become increasingly convenient. FaceTime, as a web-based real-time communication service provided by Apple, offers us the convenience of face-to-face communication with family, friends, and colleagues.

However, while users enjoy the convenience of FaceTime services, criminals have seized upon the characteristic that FaceTime can bypass telecom operator supervision, and have started conducting telecom fraud against users through FaceTime.

I. Case Introduction:

(1) Recently, the Baiyu Road Police Station of Changfeng Street received such a case: The reporter, Ms. Wang (pseudonym), received a FaceTime call from someone posing as "Agricultural Bank Customer Service," claiming that she had insurance about to expire. If she did not cancel the insurance service in time, a huge insurance fee would be charged. Since this "Agricultural Bank Customer Service" accurately provided Ms. Wang's ID number, bank card number, and other information, Ms. Wang firmly believed the criminal's words. The other party asked Ms. Wang to download the "NetEase Meeting" app, and in the app, requested Ms. Wang to pay a "guarantee fee" to a designated account to cancel subsequent insurance fees. After Ms. Wang made 3 transfers totaling over 90,000 yuan to the designated account as instructed, she realized she had been scammed and reported to the police. Currently, the case is still under investigation.

(2) Ms. Zhou (pseudonym) received a FaceTime call from someone posing as "Alipay Customer Service Center" at home, claiming that her Huabei had high-amount online loans that had expired and needed to be closed, otherwise it would affect her personal credit. Then, under the other party's guidance, she downloaded an app called "Zoom" and enabled screen sharing. After entering the "official website" provided by the other party and entering her bank card number, verification code, and other information as instructed, Ms. Zhou received a bank SMS notification that the balance in her bank card had been transferred out. Panicked, she immediately questioned the customer service, who claimed that Ms. Zhou's account had been urgently frozen by the bank as a risk account, and provided Ms. Zhou with a "safe account," saying that transferring the balance to that account would prevent it from being frozen. At this point, Ms. Zhou realized she had been scammed and reported to the police. After receiving the report, the police urgently initiated a freezing and stopping payment procedure, ultimately avoiding financial losses for Ms. Zhou.

II. Scam Analysis:

Compared with previous telecom fraud, FaceTime fraud is merely criminals changing a method of contact; the content has not changed. As long as residents are aware of the "modus operandi" of this type of fraud, criminals will naturally have no way to proceed.

1.Impersonating identity: First, criminals disguise themselves as various "official customer service" representatives, such as "bank customer service," "WeChat customer service," etc. They use FaceTime call invitations to victims by utilizing Apple IDs and other information obtained through illegal means.

2.Gaining trust: After the phone call is connected, criminals will present credit reports, victims' identity information, and other content to eliminate victims' doubts. Once the victim falls into the trap, criminals will ask the victim to download video conferencing software with screen sharing functionality, and remotely "guide" the victim to perform operations.

3.Defrauding money: After gaining the victim's trust, criminals will make excuses such as "account is not secure" or "close loan business," requiring the victim to transfer money to the so-called "safe account," or ask the victim to log into the so-called "safe website" during screen sharing to steal the victim's payment information.

III. Anti-Fraud Tips:

(1) Prevention tips for FaceTime fraud:

1.Be cautious when answering unfamiliar calls, turn off FaceTime function

When receiving unfamiliar calls or FaceTime calls, residents should establish anti-fraud awareness and never blindly trust them. iPhone users can turn off FaceTime by following these steps: Go to [System Settings] → Go to [FaceTime] → Turn off [FaceTime]. If you really need to use FaceTime, it is recommended to turn on the [Reject all calls except contacts] option.

2.Verify the other party's identity through official channels

Residents should remember that WeChat, banks, and other official platforms will not contact users through FaceTime or personal social accounts. Any "customer service" contacting you through these methods is telecom fraud. If you receive a call from a so-called "official platform," do not blindly trust it. Instead, contact the staff through the customer service phone number displayed on the official platform for verification.

3.Be cautious when using third-party apps, refuse screen sharing

In this type of fraud scheme, criminals often ask victims to use third-party meeting software such as "Tencent Meeting" or "Zoom." Since these applications are common online meeting tools, victims usually don't suspect them. However, through the screen sharing function of these software, criminals can not only steal victims' facial recognition information, but also obtain victims' bank card numbers, passwords, and verification codes entered during online payment operations. Therefore, if an unfamiliar caller asks you to add personal social accounts or various video conferencing software for screen sharing, please firmly refuse. Also, when using screen sharing function, residents should also be careful to avoid leaking personal information and payment information.

(2) Prevention tips for other telecom fraud:

1.Download the National Anti-Fraud Center APP.

The National Anti-Fraud Center APP is an APP software that promotes anti-fraud knowledge and provides warnings about fraud information in China. Its functions include: ① Intelligently identifying fraudulent calls, text messages, and installed fraudulent apps, and providing warning alerts; ② One-click reporting of fraud leads; ③ Learning various anti-fraud knowledge.

2.Answer "96110" calls promptly.

When the incoming call shows "96110", please be sure to answer it! "96110" is a dedicated number for anti-telecom network fraud, specifically used for early warning, persuasion, and prevention publicity to the public. Receiving a call from "96110" means you may be being harmed by telecom network fraud criminals. Please answer promptly and follow the persuasion instructions to avoid being scammed!

3.Remember the "Five Nos" principle.

①Do not lend your valid ID documents to others to prevent being impersonated;

②Do not easily disclose personal information such as passbook (debit card) passwords, home addresses, phone numbers, mobile phone numbers, etc., to prevent being exploited by others;

③Do not easily believe advertisements posted online or information about part-time jobs, job applications, order-flipping, loans, etc., and do not;

④Do not easily transfer money or make bank transfers to strangers. If you must transfer or pay someone, be sure to verify the other party's information repeatedly;

⑤Do not click on or scan link addresses, QR codes, or Tao口令 (shopping codes) sent by strangers. Always stay vigilant.

4.How to handle if you are scammed

If a resident unfortunately fails to recognize the telecom fraud and makes a transfer, what should they do?

①Call 110 immediately to report the crime, or go to the nearest police station to file a report. After calling 110 or filing a report, the police will immediately take measures to stop the payment and prevent further financial losses to the reporter. It should be noted that after calling the police, the reporter also needs to go to the nearest police station as soon as possible to make a statement, so that the case can be further investigated.

②Be sure to accurately record the scammer's account number, account name, and other related information. Be sure to keep proof of the transfer or remittance, such as the receipt from ATM transfers, screenshots of WeChat or Alipay transfers; and be sure to clearly keep the complete account numbers of both yourself and the other party!