On July 9, New Zealand police arrested three foreign exchange scammers and charged them with obtaining by deception and money laundering.
Police arrested two men and a woman. It is reported that they targeted the Chinese community with a sophisticated foreign exchange scam and defrauded six victims in June, causing them to lose over $200,000.
The scammers pretended to buy New Zealand dollars with Chinese yuan from the victims under the false pretense of offering an exchange rate more favorable to that of banks. The scammers would then deliberately report to the bank under the pretext of fraud, resulting in the victims' accounts being frozen.
Before this arrest, police had issued a warning through WeChat groups and other social media platforms commonly used by the Chinese community, reminding them to beware of those who are in urgent need of foreign exchange.
Police said the scam resulted in victims losing money and being involved in complex legal issues. Meanwhile, police have warned that such fraudsters are still targeting the Chinese community and posing threats to them.