As the Dragon Boat Festival approaches, many consumers are purchasing rice dumplings online. However, shopping demand has also become an opportunity for fraud groups. Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau recently shared a case involving a 50-year-old man surnamed Chen who lost more than NT$1 million after falling victim to a fake customer service scam.

According to police, Chen ordered rice dumplings through a social media platform and later received a logistics link requesting delivery information. After clicking the link, a message claimed that the order had failed because identity verification was incomplete and directed him to contact customer service through a LINE account.

The scammers then called Chen, claiming there was a payment processing problem with his order. They instructed him to verify his identity and follow a series of online banking procedures. Trusting the caller, Chen completed the requested actions and later discovered that large sums of money had been transferred out of his account.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau warned that fraud groups often take advantage of holiday shopping seasons by using excuses such as identity verification, order errors, duplicate payments, or transaction issues. Consumers should be cautious whenever they are asked to add a LINE account, verify banking information, or transfer money. If in doubt, they should contact official customer service channels or call Taiwan's 165 Anti-Fraud Hotline.