Chapter 40 Online Romance Scam
Zhao Liming took a sip of tea and replied, "You mean that case of the college student from C University who was scammed in an online romance scam?"
“Yeah,” Qin Haoran sighed. “He’s a junior in college. He seems pretty honest and introverted. He had a ‘girlfriend’ online. Apparently, she looks really pure and pretty in the photos, and she’s from a rich family. They’ve been chatting for about half a year, exchanging sweet nothings every day. She’s completely infatuated with him.”
Xu Zhixian put down his drink, his expression becoming more serious, and added, "The other party's tactics are very sophisticated. First, they created a perfect persona: a graduate of a prestigious university, from a wealthy family, and with a gentle and considerate personality. After establishing full trust, they started asking for money under various pretexts."
Su Xiaonuan was sipping her plum juice when she heard the keywords "online dating scam," "C University," and "50,000 yuan." Her ears perked up instantly, and the system's KPI radar started beeping!
She immediately sat up straight, listening intently, her big eyes fixed on Xu Zhixian without blinking, even her breathing becoming soft, as if afraid of missing any detail.
Xu Zhixian noticed her suddenly extremely serious expression and found it somewhat amusing, but he continued speaking with the clarity and organization characteristic of an investigator: "At first, the amounts were small, such as 'I'm sick and don't have money to buy medicine,' or 'I want a small gift but don't have enough pocket money.' The boys, out of concern and a desire to impress, would transfer tens or hundreds of yuan. Later, the reasons gradually escalated, becoming 'My family's company is having cash flow problems,' 'I was in a car accident and need surgery,' or even 'To be with the boy, I have to break with my family and need travel and living expenses'..."
Qin Haoran couldn't help but interject, his tone filled with indignation: "What's most infuriating is that they even came up with a variation of the 'pig butchering scam'! They dragged the boy into some kind of 'short-term high-return investment,' claiming it was insider information and a sure thing. The boy initially invested a small amount of money and actually saw quick returns. After getting a taste of success, he invested all his savings from tuition and living expenses, plus money borrowed from online loans, totaling over 50,000 yuan! As you can imagine, the other party vanished without a trace in an instant."
Zhao Liming said in a deep voice, "We checked the boy's transfer records. The money was transferred through multiple third-party payment platforms and cryptocurrency transactions. The method was very sophisticated. The final receiving account was a card opened in this city, but the account holder's information was fake, and the ID card was lost and misused. After the funds arrived, they were quickly withdrawn in batches from multiple ATMs. The person withdrawing the money wore a hat and a mask, deliberately avoiding frontal surveillance. The trail ends here. It will take time to trace the flow of funds and check the withdrawal surveillance footage."
Su Xiaonuan frowned as she listened, her little fists clenching involuntarily.
This kind of behavior—using emotions to deceive and drain the victim's savings—is utterly despicable! Moreover, the perpetrator is clearly a repeat offender with a strong sense of counter-surveillance.
Just as she was immersed in the case, pondering how she would use the system's capabilities to track it down—
"Ring ring—!"
Her phone rang again without warning! The sharp ringtone was still clearly audible in the slightly noisy outdoor environment.
The laughter and conversation around the table abruptly stopped.
Xu Zhixian, Zhao Liming, and Qin Haoran almost simultaneously stopped all their movements, their eyes fixed on Su Xiaonuan's phone on the table with heightened alertness and scrutiny.
The screen still showed an unfamiliar caller ID number that looked like a fake number.
The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.
Under the intense gazes of the three people, Su Xiaonuan took a deep breath and tried her best to remain calm.
She quickly pressed the record button on her phone before swiping to answer, and then held the phone to her ear, signaling the others to be quiet.
As always, there was a deathly silence on the other end of the receiver.
However, this silence seems different.
Su Xiaonuan's five senses were enhanced and became exceptionally sharp. She seemed to be able to detect an extremely faint hissing sound, similar to an electric current, and... a very slight, suppressed breathing sound.
The other side seemed to be holding their breath, listening intently to what was happening on their end.
This silent standoff lasted for about... two seconds?
Just as Su Xiaonuan was about to tentatively open her mouth—
The call was abruptly ended without warning! Faster and more decisive than the previous two times!
It was as if the other party had only made a tentative call, and then immediately cut off the connection after sensing the unusual silence on this end or perceiving the risk in some way.
"How is it?" Qin Haoran immediately asked, his playful expression vanishing, replaced by a sharp and serious work demeanor.
Su Xiaonuan put down her phone, shook her head, and frowned: "He still didn't say anything... but it feels like he... knew there were people here? He hung up quickly and didn't leave anything."
Without saying a word, Qin Haoran reached out his hand to Su Xiaonuan, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Give me your phone."
Su Xiaonuan obediently handed over her phone.
Qin Haoran took the call, found the number that had just called, and immediately dialed it back.
He held the phone to his ear, and everyone watched him with bated breath.
However, a few seconds later, Qin Haoran's expression darkened.
He put down his phone, the screen facing everyone, displaying the carrier's automatic notification—
"The number you dialed is not in service."
Xu Zhixian and Zhao Liming exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing a solemn expression and a sense of "as expected."
The caller used a disposable virtual number, employing highly professional techniques, making this far from a typical harassing call or a simple prank.
"It seems you're in quite a bit of trouble too," Xu Zhixian said to Su Xiaonuan, his tone heavy.
The pleasant atmosphere of the barbecue gathering was completely shattered by this bizarre phone call.
The four of them lost interest in chatting and quickly helped Su Xiaonuan put the tables, chairs, and sunshade into the car. They also carefully cleaned the ground in front of the stall, leaving no trash behind.
Then, Xu Zhixian and the other two led Su Xiaonuan back into the Municipal Public Security Bureau building and went directly into a small conference room.
Su Xiaonuan took out her phone and played the recordings of the three strange phone calls she received for the three police officers.
The first two times, one was a rapid numerical code, ##404##191519##, and the other was a regular knocking sound.
This time, there was a brief silence followed by an abrupt disconnection.
Xu Zhixian and Zhao Liming listened carefully, especially to the second recording of the knocking sound, which they listened to several times.
“It’s Morse code,” Zhao Liming said first, his tone certain. “Although the rhythm was a bit off due to tension, it was repeated several times and the meaning was very clear—HELP TRAPPED—trapped, calling for help.”
Qin Haoran slammed his fist into his palm: "It really is a distress signal! And this time the other party is clearly more vigilant! This means his/her situation may be more dangerous, or the person monitoring him/her has discovered something!"
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