Scams targeting Mandarin-speaking community

Impersonation scams involving extortion that target the Mandarin-speaking community.

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Fake Chinese authority scams are worldwide extortion scams. They target the Mandarin-speaking community, particularly students of Chinese background.

The scammers lie to victims about who they are and blackmail them to extort their money.

Read about these scams in Simplified Chinese 简体中文.

About the scam targeting the Mandarin-speaking community

Scammers will usually send a pre-recorded phone message in Mandarin. The message will tell you that there is a parcel for you and ask you to call back urgently.

When you call back, the scammer will pretend to be a courier service or a Chinese government official. They will tell you that you are in trouble with the authorities.

They will then lie and claim that:

  • your parcel contains illegal materials (such as fake credit cards or passports)
  • someone is using your identity for illegal activity
  • the Australian Government will arrest you, cancel your visa and deport you.

About impersonation scammers

The scammers will demand money to stop these fake criminal charges. They will also threaten you with the deportation of yourself or your family. This is always a lie.

The scammers may also:

  • Force you to fake your own kidnapping to extort money from your family.
  • Blackmail you into producing compromising photos or videos of yourself performing sexual acts.
  • Force you to get loans, use your savings, or buy cryptocurrency and transfer the money into overseas bank accounts.

Advice to protect yourself from impersonation scams

If you are unsure about any phone calls, emails or messages, do not follow any requests. Always talk it over with someone you trust, or contact your local police station.

Keep the following tips in mind if someone unknown contacts you:

  • Hang up if someone claiming to be a government official rings you and says that you are in trouble.
  • If you are not sure that the person calling is who they say they are, contact the department directly.
  • Don’t use any phone numbers, email addresses or websites the caller gives you.
  • If you are not sure, try to find them through an independent source or an online search engine.
  • Do not give or confirm any personal details to anyone over the phone, unless you made the call yourself.
  • Never transfer any money or cryptocurrency to an unknown caller, unless you made the phone call yourself.

For more tips and information about current scams in Chinese languages, visit Scamwatch.

If you think you have been scammed

If you have been affected by this impersonation scam, act fast.

You should:

  • Call your bank as soon as possible to stop any transfers and get advice.
  • Stop all communications with the scammer.
  • Do not make any further money transfers or follow the scammer’s demands.
  • Report the scam to the website, app or social media platform where you first spoke to the scammer.

Report an authority impersonation scam

If you have been involved in this scam, you should report it to police. This will not impact your visa.

You can report an authority impersonation scam:

In an emergency, always call Triple Zero (000)(opens in a new window).

To find out more about reporting cybercrime visit Report online abuse, cybercrimes, fraud and scams.

Support for victims of authority impersonation scams

If you have been affected by impersonation scams, help is available.

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