Beijing resident Li was appalled when she found that 430,000 yuan ($60,680) disappeared from her bank savings within minutes. The money transfer, which was supposed to be verified through facial recognition, went undetected, Li said.
It all happened in June 2021 after Li received a call from someone claiming to be a police officer who questioned her on alleged money laundering. To prove her innocence, Li followed the caller’s instructions to transfer money to a newly opened account at the Bank of Communications, which was soon drained by scammers.