Primary School Student in Anhui Defrauded of 30,000 Yuan Through "Free Game Skin" Scam

During the National Day holiday, a primary school student in Linquan County, Anhui Province, fell victim to a telecom fraud scheme while browsing a short video platform. The fraudster posed as a game customer service representative and police officer, ultimately defrauding the victim of over 30,000 yuan from their grandmother's bank card. The case is currently under further investigation. The incident exposes the vicious tactics of telecom fraud targeting minors. Fraudsters exploited the victim's lack of social experience and discernment ability, systematically setting up traps. Notably, the criminals not only impersonated game platform customer service but also arbitrarily posed as police officers, threatening and intimidating the minor victim, seriously infringing upon the minor's legitimate rights and interests. The scam began when the victim, surnamed Hua, was browsing the Kuaishou platform using their grandmother's phone during the holiday. The victim received a private message from a stranger claiming to offer free "Eggy Party" game skins. Following the fraudster's instructions, the victim added a "customer service" friend and was guided to scan a QR code to claim the supposed free skin. After the victim completed the initial operation, the scammer suddenly claimed that because the user was a minor, the company's account of 60,000 yuan had been frozen, and legal responsibility would be pursued if cooperation was not provided. This "sweet first, bitter then" fraud model exploited the minor's fear of legal consequences. More despicably, the fraudster then impersonated a police officer to continue the scam. A man claiming to be "Officer Yang" added the victim as a friend and conducted a phone call. Under extreme panic, the child, lacking legal knowledge and social experience, was completely controlled by the perpetrator. The fraudsters employed multiple intimidation tactics: first threatening that "parents will go to jail if they don't cooperate to unfreeze the account," then intimidating that it would "affect college admissions." These psychological manipulation techniques targeted the minor's dependence on parents and concerns about their future. Under "Officer Yang's" guidance, the victim enabled screen sharing on their phone and repeatedly provided SMS verification codes. This operation directly allowed the fraudsters to remotely synchronize the phone screen and obtain all sensitive information including verification codes, bank card balances, and payment interfaces. Using the obtained verification codes, the fraudsters successfully bound and controlled the bank card linked to the grandmother's phone. Multiple fund transfers were conducted until family members discovered that over 30,000 yuan had been transferred. The victim operated under the fraudster's remote phone instructions without any awareness of the fund theft. The case reflects several prominent characteristics of current telecom fraud targeting minors: using popular games or social platforms as luring channels, impersonating official customer service and law enforcement for dual fraud, exploiting minors' fear of legal consequences for psychological control, and using technical means like screen sharing to directly obtain payment verification codes. The incident also reveals safety hazards at multiple levels. Parents handed bank card-linked phones to minor children without setting appropriate payment restrictions or supervision. Parents failed to educate children about basic telecom fraud prevention, and children lacked the ability to identify identities like "customer service" or "police." Anti-fraud experts warn that parents should not share payment passwords with children, should properly manage phones, bank cards, and other important items, and avoid setting payment apps to免密支付 (password-free payment). Parents should strengthen communication with children and help them establish correct online game consumption concepts.