More than 80 percent of people would do nothing after receiving a call from a scammer, a survey conducted by the National Communications Commission (NCC) showed.
The NCC’s “Telecom Market Report” for last year surveyed the experiences of Taiwanese regarding telecom and Internet fraud.
More than 60 percent of respondents said that they had encountered scams via telephone or the Internet, the survey showed.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
Scams via mobile phone made up the largest proportion at about 80 percent, followed by landline calls and instant messages, it showed.
People have become used to telecom and Internet fraud, but they respond passively to scam calls and messages, the report said.
More than 80 percent of respondents would “hang up the phone or do nothing,” while nearly 20 percent said they would “warn friends and family,” the survey showed.
Only 9.2 percent said that they would call the 165 anti-fraud hotline, while 2.6 percent said they would call 110 or report the situation to police, it showed.
Scammers most commonly seek to impersonate social accounts to trick people into buying game cards from convenience stores or steal transaction information from online shopping platforms and impersonate a customer service agent to deceive people into transferring money to a bank account they control, the NCC said.
Other tactics include manipulating people on dating apps and extorting them, it added.
Fraud rings tend to use scam calls or messages to invite people to join an online group or install an investment app with promises of high returns on, it said.
There were 37,823 incidents of fraud reported last year, an increase of 8,314 incidents, or 28.17 percent, from a year earlier, National Police Agency data showed.
That figure included an increase of 5,233 incidents of investment fraud, the police data showed.
A woman surnamed Wang (王) yesterday said that she frequently receives suspicious messages offering investment opportunities, which she ignores, as reporting cases via the 165 hotline or to police is time-consuming.
A man surnamed Hu (胡) said that he was scammed, but as several days had passed since he had transferred money, he did not report the case, as he believed that the police would not be able to help.
Ming Chuan University professor of criminal justice Wang Po-chi (王伯頎) earlier this week said that Taiwanese tend to do nothing when they are victimized by fraud out of the fear of being laughed at, or being labeled “greedy” or “foolish.”
Going through the experience usually involves personal issues and financial investments, Wang said.
Moreover, police might not know about a new fraud tactic until a case is reported, he said.
People who receive scam calls or messages should report the case to the police otherwise fraud attempts would become more rampant, as the risk is low, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS