Perspective | NFC Scam Tactics Are Deep: Touching the Legal Bottom Line Will Lead to Severe Punishment

Scammed out of nearly 100,000 yuan by downloading third-party software and transferring money via NFC:

Mr. Li received a call from someone claiming to be a customer service representative from an airline, stating that his flight was canceled due to mechanical failure and asking whether he wanted to change his ticket or get a refund. After Mr. Li chose to change his ticket, the caller further stated that since insurance had already been purchased for him, 300 yuan could be refunded to his bank card, but it needed to be done through "corporate payment" operations. Under the caller's step-by-step inducement, Mr. Li activated the "Worry-Free Loan" service on a certain platform and borrowed a total of 100,000 yuan in two installments. Subsequently, the caller asked Mr. Li to download a software application and perform card swiping operations using the mobile NFC function. Mr. Li, without suspicion, followed the instructions and completed two large transactions. It was only when the caller requested a third card swipe that Mr. Li sensed something was wrong, but by then he had already been scammed out of 98,000 yuan.

Mobile phone remotely controlled, money transferred from bank card:

Ms. Luo received a call from an unknown number, where the caller falsely claimed that she had activated a "membership live broadcast service" and that high fees would be deducted if she did not cancel it. Believing it to be true, Ms. Luo added the customer service account provided by the caller and downloaded two app installation packages. One was a conference software, and the other was a payment tool. After enabling screen sharing, Ms. Luo's phone became passive and was remotely controlled, even experiencing automatic blackouts. The caller then instructed Ms. Luo to bring her bank card close to the NFC recognition area of her phone and told her not to operate the phone. Soon after, the caller sent a false message stating "Membership successfully closed" and then disconnected. After checking with her family, Ms. Luo was horrified to find that the money in her bank card had vanished.

Disguising identity to gain trust:Fraudsters obtain victims' personal information through illegal means, such as flight booking information and shopping records, and disguise themselves as customer service personnel from relevant institutions. Using seemingly reasonable excuses like "flight failure requires a refund" or "membership service fee deduction anomaly," they exploit the victims' anxiety and concern to quickly lower their guard, paving the way for subsequent fraud steps.

Creating illusions through screen sharing:They induce victims to enter carefully designed fake websites or download specified malicious software, and then use the screen sharing function to let victims see their so-called "operating process" in real-time. This seemingly professional operation process is actually designed to make victims mistakenly believe that everything is proceeding in a legitimate and safe manner, thus relaxing their vigilance against the fraudulent behavior.

Using NFC to steal money:After gaining the victim's trust, the fraudster will ask the victim to use the phone's NFC function to bring the bank card close to the phone, completing the binding with the fake software. Taking advantage of the convenience of NFC, they directly read the bank card information and quickly transfer funds from the card without the victim noticing.

Fabricating success messages to divert attention:After completing the theft operation, the fraudster sends false messages such as "Refund has been credited" or "Membership has been successfully closed," leading the victim to mistakenly believe that the transaction has been completed normally, thus relaxing their attention to account funds. By the time the victim discovers the theft, they often miss the best opportunity to mitigate losses.

Legal basis:Article 266 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China clearly states that those who defraud public or private property in large amounts shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or control, and may also be fined or subjected to a single fine; those who defraud in huge amounts or have other serious circumstances shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall be fined; those who defraud in particularly huge amounts or have other particularly serious circumstances shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and shall be fined or have their property confiscated.
 

Constituent elements analysis:In the above cases, the fraudsters fabricated lies about flight cancellations and refunds, as well as false membership fees, deliberately concealing their true intentions, causing victims like Mr. Li and Ms. Luo to fall into a false understanding. Based on this misunderstanding, the victims disposed of their property against their true will, ultimately leading to significant financial losses. This series of actions fully meets the constituent elements of fraud. In judicial practice, regarding the determination of the amount of fraud, the higher people's courts and people's procuratorates of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government will jointly study and determine the specific amount standards for execution in their regions based on the actual economic and social development conditions. Generally speaking, fraud involving public or private property valued at more than 3,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan is recognized as "large amount"; fraud involving 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan is recognized as "huge amount"; and fraud involving more than 500,000 yuan is recognized as "particularly huge amount." In the case, Mr. Li was scammed out of nearly 100,000 yuan, which clearly meets the standard of "huge amount," and the fraudster will face severe legal punishment.

Legal basis:According to Article 253-1 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, those who violate national regulations by selling or providing citizens' personal information to others, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and may also be fined or subjected to a single fine; if the circumstances are particularly serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and shall be fined. If they violate national regulations and sell or provide citizens' personal information obtained during the performance of duties or provision of services to others, they shall be punished more severely according to the preceding paragraph. Those who illegally obtain or use other methods to obtain citizens' personal information shall also be punished according to the first paragraph. If a unit commits any of the preceding three crimes, the unit shall be fined, and the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be punished according to the provisions of that paragraph.
 

Constituent elements analysis:The reason fraudsters can carry out precise scams is that they illegally obtain a large amount of personal information from victims, including flight information, bank card information, contact information, etc. This information falls under the category of citizens' personal information, which is strictly protected by law. When fraudsters illegally obtain and use this information to commit fraud, once it reaches the standard of "serious circumstances," it constitutes the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information. According to relevant judicial interpretations, illegally obtaining, selling, or providing more than fifty items of trajectory information, communication content, credit information, property information; illegally obtaining, selling, or providing more than five hundred items of accommodation information, communication records, health and physiological information, transaction information, and other citizens' personal information that may affect personal and property safety; or illegally obtaining, selling, or providing more than five thousand items of citizens' personal information not covered by the third and fourth items, are all recognized as "serious circumstances." In NFC fraud cases, the behavior of fraudsters illegally obtaining citizens' personal information for fraud usually meets the conditions of "serious circumstances" and will certainly be subject to legal sanctions.

Legal basis:Article 287-2 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that if a person knows that others are using information networks to commit crimes and provides technical support such as internet access, server hosting, network storage, communication transmission, or assistance such as advertising promotion and payment settlement, and the circumstances are serious, they shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years or criminal detention, and may also be fined or face a separate fine. If a unit commits the aforementioned crime, the unit shall be fined, and the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel shall be punished according to the provisions of the first paragraph. If other crimes are also constituted, they shall be convicted and punished according to the provisions of the more severe punishment.
 

Constituent elements analysis:In NFC fraud cases, there are individuals or organizations that, for personal gain, knowingly provide various key assistance to fraudsters using information networks to commit fraud. For example, developing malicious software specifically for fraud, helping fraudsters remotely control victims' phones and read NFC information; or providing payment settlement channels to assist fraudsters in quickly transferring the proceeds of fraud to evade investigation. When these actions meet the standard of 'serious circumstances,' they may constitute the crime of assisting information network criminal activities. For instance, if the developed malicious software is widely used in multiple fraud cases involving huge amounts of fraud, or if the amount of funds transferred is large and involves many people, it meets the conditions of 'serious circumstances,' and the relevant personnel will be difficult to escape legal accountability.

Be cautious of 'customer service' calls:When receiving a call from someone claiming to be customer service, be sure to remain highly vigilant and verify their true identity through official channels as soon as possible. This is especially important when it involves sensitive information such as flight changes, refunds, or membership services. For calls from unfamiliar personal mobile numbers or overseas numbers starting with '00' or '+', be resolutely cautious, and do not click on unfamiliar links provided in text messages or calls, nor should you easily download apps from unknown sources.

Use NFC features cautiously:In daily life, develop the habit of using NFC features cautiously, avoiding random payment operations through NFC in software or scenarios of unknown origin to prevent bank card information from being stolen. When not using NFC features, it is recommended to turn off the NFC switch on the device in a timely manner to reduce risks from the source.

Refuse screen sharing:Any request to open screen sharing or remote assistance should raise our high alert. Screen sharing may lead to a complete leak of personal information, giving fraudsters an opportunity. Therefore, unless communicating with official customer service or trusted personnel and confirming safety, all screen sharing requests should be refused.

Enhance security awareness:Always remain vigilant and enhance your own security awareness. Do not easily trust the words of strangers, especially regarding information related to property transactions. Never casually disclose personal important information, such as bank card numbers, passwords, dynamic verification codes, and other sensitive information to others. Regularly change various account passwords and enable two-factor authentication to further enhance account security.

Use safe and reliable applications: When installing and using mobile applications, be sure to choose official app stores and other legitimate channels to download genuine software, and resolutely avoid downloading software of unknown origin. At the same time, promptly update system patches and security software versions to ensure that the device is always in the latest security protection state. Additionally, you can install professional security protection software for comprehensive real-time protection of your phone.

Disclaimer: The fraud cases and methods provided in this article are compiled based on existing materials and legal provisions, and the content of the article is for reference only and does not constitute any legal opinion.