The bank card was frozen for a week but still hasn't been unfrozen. Unexpectedly, it was used by criminals to become "money laundering accomplices". The flower shop owner received an order of 33700 yuan from the criminals | bank card | order
According to the Quzhou Public Security Bureau in Zhejiang on July 10th, the owner of a flower shop received an order of 33700 yuan, but was unexpectedly exploited and involved in money laundering by criminals.
Ms. Peng runs a flower shop in Kecheng District, Quzhou, Zhejiang. In early June, she received a special order: a young man walked into the store and requested to pack a bouquet of "wealthy flowers", which was to put RMB cash in a flower gift box.
This bouquet is occasionally ordered by customers, usually for small amounts of a thousand yuan. But this man is particularly extravagant, planning to put 33440 yuan in cash on the flowers, plus 260 yuan for the flower wrapping handicraft fee, a total of 33700 yuan needs to be paid. The man asked Ms. Peng for her bank card number and said that he would make the payment through bank card transfer. Without much thought, Ms. Peng provided her bank card number. Due to the large amount involved, Ms. Peng carefully checked her bank account and confirmed that 33700 yuan had been received. She went to the bank to withdraw the money and made a "Money Flower" gift box according to the other party's requirements, which was then delivered to the designated location. But a few days later, Ms. Peng received a bank text message informing her that her bank card had been frozen. Ms. Peng initially thought it was just an abnormal account and it would automatically unfreeze in three days. However, after a week, her bank card was still frozen. The bank suggested that Ms. Peng consult with the police station.
So, Ms. Peng came to the Chengdong Police Station of the Zhizao New City Branch of Quzhou Public Security Bureau with a puzzled attitude. After investigation, the police found that Ms. Peng's bank cocaine was suspected of money laundering and was frozen by the local public security organs. After listening to the police, Ms. Peng hurriedly stated that she had never been involved in illegal activities such as money laundering. After careful recollection, she remembered this special order.
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According to the Legal Channel of Henan Radio and Television Station on May 31st, recently, Ms. Zhang, who runs a flower shop in Xinmi City, received a friend application on WeChat. The other party claimed to have found her fresh flower shop on a certain platform and added her WeChat through the contact information left on the platform. Subsequently, the "customer" requested a customized flower gift box containing 40000 yuan in cash, claiming to be given to their girlfriend. The customer also requested Ms. Zhang to provide a bank card number to transfer the 40000 yuan to her. Ms. Zhang provided a bank card number as requested by the other party, and soon received reminders of different amounts of payments. Ms. Zhang, who often watches anti fraud promotional videos, realized that the other party may not be a serious flower buying customer, so she decisively chose to report to the police. After investigation by the police, she successfully caught a suspect gang engaged in "money laundering" crimes.
According to the Quzhou Public Security Bureau in Zhejiang Province, it is not only the flower shop that has received such fraudulent payments, but Mr. Zhang from Longyou County runs a tobacco and alcohol trading business. On May 22nd, his friend introduced a business to him stating that a certain acquaintance's child needs to buy a batch of cigarettes for marriage. At noon that day, Zhang received a payment of 30123 yuan from a customer in Handan, Hebei. On June 3, 2023, the receiving account was frozen by the public security organs in another city. It is understood that Zhang, a tobacco and alcohol trading firm, received more than 30000 yuan, which was also defrauded of funds by victims from other places.
Scammers use online platforms or attract local personnel to contact merchants, focus on the psychology of merchants serving customers, and propose personalized needs. Merchants have relaxed their vigilance because they have previously made customized gift boxes or based on large orders, which mostly cater to customer needs. Usually, fraudsters prioritize purchasing goods that are easy to monetize and propose to transfer money into the merchant's bank account, asking them to provide their bank card number. Subsequently, the illegal personnel forwarded the card number to the victim of the fraud case. The prepayment received by the merchant is actually the stolen money from other cases. In this way, merchant operators unintentionally became "money laundering accomplices" of fraudsters. At the same time, it caused significant losses such as the freezing of merchant accounts and even the deduction of funds involved in the case.
The police hereby remind merchants to be cautious when accepting online orders and large offline orders, standardize the payment process, refuse payments of unknown origin, and try to transfer funds through corporate to corporate channels, avoiding opportunities for scammers to take advantage of; Do not provide your own bank account or QR code for receiving payments for posting, as it may become a tool for fraudsters to launder money due to temporary small profits; If individual merchants discover abnormal conditions in their bank accounts, they should promptly go to the issuing bank to investigate the cause. If they are dealt with by the police in accordance with the law, please actively collect transaction information and cooperate with the police investigation and disposal.
