Police thwart scammer posing as fellow cop

The intended victim, a woman surnamed Zhang, received a call at the end of last month from a man who claimed to be an officer from the Luohu district public security bureau in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, according to a press release from the Qingpu District Public Security Bureau.

The phony officer told Zhang that a ring of suspected drug traffickers had cloned her credit cards and advised her to transfer her savings to a "safe" account overseen by police.

Zhang, fearing she was the victim of identity theft, raced to the bank, but became suspicious on her way and made a detour to the police station in the Xujing neighborhood of the district, according to the press release.

She told her story to the officers, who recognized it as a common telephone scam.

When the police impersonator called again, Zhang handed her mobile phone to an officer who pretended to be her relative. The officer then began to question the scammer about Zhang's case.

The fake police officer had few answers and continued to press for Zhang to transfer the money as soon as possible or risk taking a devastating financial loss.

When the Xujing police officer revealed his true identity, the scammer quickly hung up the phone.

Police reminded residents to be aware that telephone scammers can employ a variety of pretexts when they call, according to the press release. They advised residents to be especially wary when caller presses to transfer money into a unfamiliar bank account.