A spike in micro-payment scams in Taiwan sees students losing NT$4,078 after sharing verification codes with fake Instagram accounts; police warn of cross-border digital fraud and urge protective measures.
A surge in telecoms micro-payment fraud has left students in Taiwan facing bills of NT$4,078 after handing over verification codes to people posing as friends on Instagram, according to reporting by Liberty Times and the Criminal Investigation Bureau. Authorities say the codes function as payment authorisation and should never be shared, even if the request appears to come from someone known.
Police said a recent review uncovered 188 similar cases over the past three months, with victims all being students. Junior high school pupils made up the largest share, followed by senior high school students, university students and primary school children. Investigators said the scammers typically create fake accounts that differ from a real friend’s username by just one character, then claim there is an emergency and ask the victim to receive a text message on their behalf.
Once the code is handed over, the victim is hit with a charge of NT$4,078. Police traced the payments to Sony’s PlayStation platform and said the sum matches the cost of a 12-month PS Plus Premium subscription. Because the digital code can be used internationally, the fraud is easy to move across borders and difficult for victims to recover, the bureau said.
The Federal Trade Commission has separately warned that verification codes should only be used by the account holder and that requests for them are often a sign of fraud. It advises people to report suspicious activity, contact banks or card issuers through trusted channels and avoid responding to urgent messages that demand personal information. In Taiwan, police are urging parents to check children’s spending limits on their phones, ask telecoms providers to disable micro-payment services where necessary and call the anti-fraud hotline 165 if anything looks suspicious.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
