How to be deceived? How was he rescued again?, Dr. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences was scammed to northern Myanmar
Recently, the incident of doctors from the Chinese Academy of Sciences being scammed to Myanmar has attracted attention. On the evening of September 11th, Mr. Zhang, the party involved, posted on Weibo stating that he had returned to China on September 5th and had not been able to post due to cooperation with the investigation and personal illness and discomfort. In the future, we will explain the issues that everyone is concerned about with a responsible attitude towards the public and ourselves.
Mr. Zhang graduated from the Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and later engaged in postdoctoral research. In 2022, he applied for a job due to financial difficulties. After being introduced, I thought I was going to Singapore to work as a translator, but in the end, I was scammed into a scam park in the Myawathi region of southeastern Myanmar and lost my personal freedom for over a year. How was he deceived in the beginning, what did he experience in Myanmar, and how was he rescued and returned to China? Mr. Zhang, the person involved in the conversation with China Voice reporters.
Trapped from Thailand to Myanmar
The incident occurred only one small river away from Thailand
Due to his status as a Doctor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mr. Zhang's experiences in Myanmar have attracted a lot of attention. Mr. Zhang told reporters that he originally worked at the Lushan Botanical Garden in Jiangxi. In 2022, due to family illness and facing economic difficulties, there were no better job opportunities in China, so I wanted to go abroad to see more.
At first, he learned through an intermediary online that a Singaporean company was recruiting customer service personnel, and the relevant procedures and procedures seemed very formal. At that time, the entry process in Singapore was quite complicated, and the visa was not issued for a long time. At this time, he was informed by an agent that the recruitment company also had a branch in Thailand.
Mr. Zhang: At that time, I only hoped to find a job with a normal salary. I wanted to work in a branch in Thailand for a few months before moving to a company in Singapore.
Mr. Zhang said that after arriving in Thailand, the "intermediary" used various means to dispel his doubts and promised to advance a sum of money after arriving at the company. So Mr. Zhang decided to go to the "Thailand branch" first to take a look. Unexpectedly, the reality is that once you go, you can't escape.
Mr. Zhang: The incident occurred in Miaowadi, located in the southeast of Myanmar, only separated from Thailand by a small river and far from the rumored northern part of Myanmar. At that time, I didn't realize that the river was the boundary river between Myanmar and Thailand. They never mentioned Myanmar, they always told me it was Thailand. When I realized I was being scammed, I was already in a company in Myanmar. I was just a little worried about security issues before, but I didn't expect to enter the fraud park.
Mr. Zhang said that there is a huge difference in the fraud patterns and targets between northern Myanmar and eastern Myanmar. Due to the high number of reports on cyberfraud cases in Myanmar, fraud parks usually use working in Thailand as a bait when recruiting to avoid mentioning Myanmar.
△ Mr. Zhang's Weibo screenshot
Clear division of labor within the fraud park
The victim of the scam is required to work while receiving training
After entering the fraud park, Mr. Zhang was arranged to chat with clients.
Mr. Zhang: My main job is to chat and type in computer chat software, because that scam park does not involve phone fraud.
Mr. Zhang: I am a digital currency "pig slayer", which means deceiving others into investing and targeting overseas groups, such as European and American countries, including Chinese and overseas Chinese. We can use translation software to communicate with foreigners even if we don't know English.
Mr. Zhang introduced that the division of labor within the park is clear, and those who are deceived will be required to work while receiving training. Some are responsible for finding customers on social media abroad, while others are responsible for retaining customers through online chatting.
Mr. Zhang: They will provide some scripts for successful fraud cases in advance, so that we can learn them every day. Usually, we disguise ourselves as women and chat with European and American men, starting with emotions and then investing in them.
Mr. Zhang: We need to get close to our clients. At the beginning, we will falsely claim that our parents or other relatives are in the same place as our clients, and then understand their interests, hobbies, and family assets.
Mr. Zhang: At first, the success rate was high, but now it is getting lower and lower, and the company's monthly performance is declining.
Mr. Zhang: They have a position called "System Supervision", specifically responsible for supervising our work and conducting daily patrols.
The fraud park adopts a fully enclosed model
Leaking fraudulent information or escaping can result in being beaten
The fraud park where Mr. Zhang is located is fully enclosed, and everyone's personal freedom is restricted. Regular phone conversations with family members are allowed, but they must be supervised by a dedicated person at designated times. He starts work at 10 pm every night and ends work at 3 pm the next day, living in an 8-person dormitory.
Mr. Zhang: Most of them are Chinese people in their twenties and thirties, with a junior high school education level. People who enter the park initially engage in chat work, and good performance leads to promotion.
Mr. Zhang: It mainly depends on whether we can add wealthy customers every day.
Mr. Zhang: I was beaten because I mentioned fraud while communicating with my family. They thought they leaked the secrets of the park and locked me up for over a month. Although I have not suffered serious abuse, I have heard that some people who fled and were caught were beaten very badly.
Mr. Zhang: People who have just entered the park will receive a payment equivalent to 6000 yuan in the first month. They will only give you a commission if you help them get money, otherwise I won't have any money, and I only received the first month's money. There are supermarkets in the park, but the prices are very high, basically four or five times higher than outside.
Send an email to family for help
After being scammed to Myanmar for a year, he regained his freedom
After entering the park, Mr. Zhang's phone and documents were taken away, citing the company's confidentiality needs. Later, Mr. Zhang discovered that he could install a mobile phone simulator on his computer and send emails to his family in China for help. With the increasing attention of domestic public opinion, the park believes that he is a "hot potato" and ultimately demands that his family pay a ransom of 59000 yuan to send him out of the park.
Mr. Zhang: Previously, the park also requested a ransom of 120000 yuan, but my family has not successfully transferred the money. They threatened to sell me elsewhere. If it were really sold, I might not be able to leave for several years, and it would be very despairing at that time.
On August 24th, Mr. Zhang admitted to voluntarily entering the park through signature, video recording, and other means. He was transported by the park's car to the Thai Myanmar border, and upon entering Thailand, he took another car to a hotel in Thailand. He used his remaining money to buy a mobile phone and phone card and contacted the Chinese Embassy in Thailand. Due to the Thai visa being overdue, the Thai police handed it over to the immigration department. On the morning of September 5th at 6 o'clock, Mr. Zhang arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport.
On September 11th, Mr. Zhang expressed his gratitude to all those who cared about him and called on relevant departments to increase their crackdown on illegal cross-border recruitment agencies and widely promote various cross-border recruitment traps. "I hope to help more people avoid being deceived, and I hope to do some science popularization and publicity work in the future."
△ Mr. Zhang's Weibo screenshot
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