Recently, the Douyin platform received a report that a scammer called and claimed to be "Douyin customer service", saying that the user has a million guarantees expired, and a lot of premiums will be deducted every month, allowing users to download third-party software and share their screens to help them "terminate the agreement". Douyin reminds that in the name of Douyin customer service, this kind of behavior of asking users to download third-party software, add social accounts, and share screens to assist in operations on the grounds of "millions of guarantees are about to expire and deducted" and "related membership services will be deducted" are typical fraud routines.
In July, Mr. A, a citizen, received a strange call from a person claiming to be a customer service of Douyin, who said that Mr. A had opened the Douyin million guarantee service, and if it was not closed, more than 2,000 yuan would be automatically deducted every month. Mr. A was worried that he would be deducted, so he added social software friends according to the other party's request, and under his guidance, he opened Douyin to carry out the so-called "million guarantee agreement closure" operation.
"I couldn't find the page he said, so he sent me a customer service website and said that he could help me through this website." After logging in to this fake customer service website, the other party successively used a series of routines such as "the signal is not good and you need to change the communication software", "the bank card has a problem and you need to log in to the mobile client", "you need to scan the QR code for a transfer test", etc., and finally even told the other party the bank's SMS verification code. "After operating several times and being transferred a lot of money, I realized that I had been cheated."
The Douyin Security Center reminds everyone that the above scam is actually a fraud in the name of the "Million Guarantee" launched by Douyin Pay. As early as April 2021, Douyin Pay provided users with a free account security guarantee, and if the user's Douyin Pay (including change, bank card, and Douyin monthly payment) account was stolen by others and caused a loss of funds, the platform promised to pay unlimited compensation according to the amount of loss, with a cumulative annual compensation amount of up to 1 million yuan (commonly known as "million guarantees"). This guarantee does not charge any cost to the user and does not need to be renewed, so it is valid for a long time.
In fact, similar scams are not uncommon in the industry, and the Douyin account of the "National Anti-Fraud Center" also produced a video in November 2023 to expose such scams: criminals call through Facetime, falsely claiming to be customer service staff on platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, saying that the victim's free experience of "Million Guarantee Security Insurance" has expired, and if it is not closed, it will automatically generate a monthly deduction. The scammer then induces the victim to turn on the screen sharing function on the pretext of shutting down the business, and defrauds the victim of bank card password, mobile phone verification code and other information, resulting in financial losses. Police tips: Million guarantee is the security setting that comes with the software, no need to pay any fees, will not "expire" or "expire", will not require payment to renew, and will not affect personal credit.
Another victim received a call from a Hong Kong IP address that claimed to be a Douyin customer service. "Said that I would be deducted 800 yuan from the membership fee soon, let me add WeChat to help me lift the deduction." After the user added the other party's WeChat, he was asked to add other social accounts, and in the operation of constantly circulating various software "add friends", the user was stolen from the bank card by the fake website sent by the other party. "There was actually an anti-fraud call in the middle of the line, but the scammer kept telling me to press it and not answer it."
The staff of the Douyin Security Center said that the black industry called or texted the victim indiscriminately in the form of casting a wide net, falsely claiming that the other party had opened the Douyin membership service or millions of guarantees, and was about to generate deductions, inducing the victim to add various social software of the black market to carry out the next step. In the process of operation, the black market personnel will propose to share the screen to assist the operation, send fake websites for users to log in, ask for bank card verification codes for testing, etc., to deceive the victim's trust and key information, and then operate a large amount of transfers, resulting in the victim's property loss.
"Douyin customer service will not ask users to share screen content, nor will they ask users to operate online banking or Alipay and other transfers, let alone let users open third-party apps or other websites." The staff of the Douyin Security Center reminded that if you encounter the above similar situations, you can report to the police or give feedback to the platform as soon as possible, and the platform will hand over the relevant clues to the public security organs for crackdown.
Producer丨Xiaodong Editor丨Xiaolu
Editor-in-Chief丨Xiaofei Editor丨Xiaoxin