A number of citizens in eastern China have been the victims of an audacious swindle which lost them nearly 200 million yuan (£20 million).
A fictitious bank which was made to look like a genuine one accepted almost 200 million yuan in deposits, mostly from small business owners.
With uniformed tellers, computer screens with financial information and forged credentials, the premises looked real but had been licensed as an agricultural consultancy rather than a bank.
The Nanjing Mou Village Economic Cooperation Unit managed to operate for about one year before a customer alerted the police who have now closed the operation and arrested four managers and one legal representative.
The victims were promised high interest rates. One had been promised 2% interest each week but this stopped after four weeks. When the operation refused to return his money, he reported it to the police.
Large-scale scams are not new in China. Fake Apple stores have been opened where staff believed they were hired by the real company, and a fake university had students attending for four years.
Comments
this is childs play, China !
Portugal has any number of spoof universities, polytechnics and technical colleges operating for years. The students actually sign up knowing their qualifications will not be time consuming or difficult - but will mean something elsewhere in the EU.
PM Socrates and Minister without Portfolio Revas famously showed how it was done just by having 'dinner for their teacher'. Nothing else needed. Teacher would spoof up work from other students to fill in.
Result a professional qualification. In Socrates case buildings .... !
British hospitals quite rightly start their Portuguese medical staff on very basic activities - just to check they have the basics right. Before letting them loose on the wards - tightly supervised.