On February 14th, the topic of “mobile phone automatically ordering a watch for 15,000 yuan” trended on social media. Mr. Zhang, a man from Beijing, found his phone inexplicably blacked out one late night, only to wake up to discover that his credit card was used to purchase a watch worth 15,000 yuan. This incident sparked a heated discussion among netizens in mainland China.
According to reports from various mainland media outlets, one night in early January 2024, Mr. Zhang’s phone suddenly blacked out without any apparent reason, vibrating and becoming unresponsive.
The next day, he discovered that his credit card had been stolen and immediately reported it to the authorities. Investigation revealed that during the phone blackout, a transaction was made on Mr. Zhang’s credit card overseas.
The money was spent at a duty-free shop in Thailand, purchasing a watch worth 15,000 yuan, which was later brought back to China by a tour guide with the surname Zhang and promptly sent out via courier. The recipient listed on the courier package, Zhang, drew attention as he regularly received a large number of packages, mostly sent from airports across the country. Zhang had a record of frequent transactions both domestically and internationally with the senders.
The investigation uncovered a criminal gang that engaged in fraudulent activities such as overseas credit card theft and domestic money laundering through deception.
The upper members of the criminal gang obtained victims’ credit card information and made purchases on foreign shopping websites or duty-free shops without needing the physical card; the “professional couriers” then brought the purchased goods from overseas to the mainland.
Once Zhang and his associates received the goods, they converted the proceeds from their criminal activities into virtual currency before distributing the spoils among the gang members.
Based on the financial trail of Zhang and his cohorts, a chain of collusion involving both domestic and international credit card fraud was exposed, involving over 70 individuals and an estimated amount of around 10 million yuan.
The investigation revealed that the criminal gang used various methods to steal victims’ credit card information, including sending phishing messages, clicking on unfamiliar links, and creating fake “official websites” to deceive individuals into disclosing their bank card details.
It was reported that Beijing Mr. Zhang’s phone blacked out due to clicking on a link infected with a virus, which led to the installation of a Trojan horse virus on his phone, allowing the criminal gang to remotely control it.
Many mainland Chinese netizens shared their similar experiences:
“I also had my phone place an order without my knowledge last time, buying a PS5, and my wife just couldn’t believe it. Finally, the truth comes out~~ Show it to my wife.”
“Three months ago, while I was rushing in the morning, my phone suddenly blacked out in my hand. At 11 am, I received a call from a number in Shanghai, telling me a reservation for a homestay. I was completely confused.”
“My phone blacked out once, and it bought me a house.”
“I also had an instance where my phone automatically ordered two phone stands for me. When they arrived, I simply returned them.”
“My Yu’ebao account was fraudulently charged 800 yuan, and despite reporting it, no one took action, but Alipay’s insurance compensated me in full.”
Some netizens also warned others: “If you don’t plan on making overseas purchases for a while, deactivate the overseas payment function. Having an extra layer of defense will make your money safer.”
Others believed that the issue wasn’t with the phones: “It’s actually the leaking of credit card information, nothing to do with the phones… No brand of phone can protect you from your own foolish actions, like disclosing your card number and password to others.”
“Large payments shouldn’t require authentication; maybe the phone user isn’t concerned about the money and opts for password-free payments.”
“Even for password-free payments, there should be a limit. A 15,000 yuan transaction certainly requires all verification steps, including SMS codes, to be bypassed.”
“Password-free payments shouldn’t be allowed on phones, especially when many families have children playing with them. Accidentally, a child might buy in-game items or unknowingly purchase products without knowing the consequences.”