Chapter 118 Economic Crime Investigation: We'll help you get your money back
In the afternoon of July, the air in Yanshi was scorching hot and sticky from the blazing sun, and the cicadas chirped incessantly.
In the finance office of Limin Supermarket, Zhang Chunhua, her forehead glistening with sweat, carefully stacked a thick wad of banknotes. Fifty 100-yuan bills were neatly arranged. She counted them three times to make sure there was not a single one missing before solemnly placing them into a brown paper bag and carefully tying it with thin hemp rope.
This 5,000 yuan is half a month's revenue for the supermarket.
The paper bag was heavy, and she subconsciously touched the dark blue-covered savings book in her inner pocket. The hard edges pressed against her skin through the thin cotton shirt, bringing a strange sense of security.
"Password 660128, password password 660128."
Zhang Chunhua silently repeated the words twice in her mind, then put the paper bag into her briefcase before pushing open the creaking glass door of the supermarket.
The sweltering heat made her squint as she strode toward the XX Bank branch on the street corner.
The air conditioning inside the bank was blasting, and the marble floors gleamed like mirrors. Compared to the sweltering streets outside, it was like a completely different, cool world.
There weren't many people around in the afternoon, so Zhang Chunhua headed straight for the familiar counter number 3. The teller, Xiao Liu, was a young woman who took the paper bag and passbook with a professional smile.
"Deposit five thousand." Zhang Chunhua's voice carried the ease of having accomplished a major task.
Xiao Liu nodded, took the banknotes, and skillfully inserted them into the money counting machine. The machine's whirring sound was particularly clear in the quiet hall. Then she picked up her passbook and inserted it into the square printer behind the counter.
After a soft "buzzing" sound, the printer needle began to move rapidly across the blank page of the passbook. Zhang Chunhua, separated by glass, habitually followed the moving printer needle with her eyes, watching as lines of black ink were clearly printed onto the passbook.
"Okay, please keep this safe." Xiao Liu pushed the passbook and a receipt out of the narrow groove, still smiling.
Zhang Chunhua picked up the passbook, habitually flipped to the page with the latest record, and quickly scanned it.
The last line clearly reads:
July 16, 1998: Transferred in 5000.00; Balance: 5000.00
Something's not right! A chill ran through her, and her gaze jumped upwards, fixing on the previous line of records. Her heart sank.
July 15, 1998: Transferred out: 5000.00; Balance: 0.00
When did she come to withdraw money yesterday? How could her balance be zero?
"Wait!" Zhang Chunhua's voice suddenly rose, so sharp it almost cracked, startling the several depositors waiting nearby.
"This, this isn't right!" Zhang Chunhua pointed to the second-to-last line, her fingers trembling slightly with excitement. "Yesterday? I wasn't at the bank yesterday! How could I have transferred five thousand yuan? My passbook has always been with me! This is impossible! Look at this balance..."
Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, the blood seemed to rush to her head, and her vision went black.
She slammed the passbook against the glass: "I didn't even leave the house yesterday afternoon! Nobody else touched this passbook except me! Only I know the password! What happened? Who transferred my money?!"
Taken aback by the sudden questioning, Xiao Liu's smile vanished. She leaned closer to the glass to examine her passbook carefully, then quickly looked down at the terminal in front of her. The cursor flashed on the screen as she rapidly typed, retrieving her account transaction history.
“Please don’t worry, there is indeed a record in the system. The time is... 3:07 PM yesterday, a transfer of 5,000 yuan was made through the counter.” She tried to keep her tone calm, but a hint of panic still betrayed her.
"Counter operation?" Zhang Chunhua felt a rush of blood to her head, her cheeks burning. "Who did this? Where am I? Did I sign anything? Show it to me!" Her voice grew louder and louder, filled with shock and anger at being deeply deceived and plundered, echoing in the somewhat empty bank lobby.
Xiao Liu's face was also a little pale. The bank's system had just been upgraded, and she wasn't very familiar with some of the procedures. She quickly searched for yesterday's transaction vouchers and soon pushed one out of the slot. "Look, this is the transfer voucher from back then."
Zhang Chunhua grabbed the thin piece of paper.
The transaction information was clearly printed on the voucher: 5,000 yuan transferred out, and the last four digits of the receiving account were 7421. However, in the customer signature section, where her signature should have been, there was only a blurry blot of ink, as if a pen had run out of ink and had been hastily scribbled over, or as if ink had bled through, making it impossible to discern any specific strokes.
"What...what is this?" Zhang Chunhua pointed at the stain, her fingers trembling even more violently, her voice hoarse with anger. "This isn't my signature at all! I've never signed this! I was checking the accounts at the supermarket yesterday afternoon at three o'clock! The boss and my colleagues can testify to that! What's going on with your bank? Where's my money? Where's my five thousand yuan? It's just gone?!"
A wave of overwhelming panic, like an icy tide, instantly drowned out the initial anger: "Oh God, it's all gone! It's all gone! The money I personally deposited the day before yesterday—that's half a month's worth of our supermarket's revenue, it's from the company account! The bank is killing me, it's going to put me out of work! Waaah..."
Zhang Chunhua's cries were like a pebble thrown into calm water, instantly creating huge ripples in the bank lobby.
"What happened? Her money is gone?"
"The money was transferred from the bank? There was no signature from the account holder?"
"My God, how could this passbook password not be secure? Our money..."
"Quick! Check my account!"
"Where's the manager?! Come out and give us an explanation!"
"No, I need to withdraw money! Right now!"
The whispers quickly escalated into a clamor of terror.
The faces of the depositors behind Zhang Chunhua changed, and they instinctively tried to push forward, shouting that they wanted to check their accounts.
The once orderly queue began to loosen and jostle. Some people rushed to other counters, banging on the glass and demanding to withdraw money immediately.
Someone rushed out of the bank and into a public phone booth to call their family, their voice urgent and panicked: "Hello? Old Li! Quick! Bring your passbook and ID card, hurry to the bank! Something's happened! Someone's money has been secretly transferred out of the bank!"
The situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control.
The bank manager and several security guards rushed out, sweating profusely, trying to calm everyone down: "Please calm down! Maintain order! This is an isolated incident! We are investigating! Please trust that the bank is safe..."
"Safety my ass!" an agitated middle-aged man roared. "How did their money disappear? Has it been investigated? Are we next?"
"Yes! Refund! Take the money out!"
"Who would dare to deposit money if the truth isn't thoroughly investigated?"
"My retirement savings..."
Cries, shouts, security guards' attempts to dissuade them, and the manager's feeble explanations were all mixed together; everything was in complete chaos.
More people flocked to the counter, demanding to withdraw money.
Panic gripped the entire sales hall, and the air was thick with anxiety.
Amid the chaos, a clear and calm female voice rang out: "Everyone, don't panic. I am Jiang Ling from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Please maintain order and don't cause any disturbances!"
The clamor of the crowd subsided, and all eyes instantly focused on the entrance.
Jiang Ling, accompanied by Li Zhenliang, Liu Haoran, and Zhou Wei, walked in through the chaotic crowd. She wasn't wearing her police uniform jacket, only a crisp summer dress shirt, the silver four-pointed stars on her epaulets shimmering in the sunlight. Her sharp eyes quickly scanned the entire area, her calm and capable demeanor instantly commanding attention.
"Li Zhenliang, Liu Haoran, maintain order. Zhou Wei, assist the tellers in registering information on all agitated depositors who are demanding withdrawals, verifying their identities and requests, promising that the police will intervene in the investigation, and ensuring the safety of their assets." Jiang Ling spoke quickly and clearly, giving crisp and decisive instructions.
"Yes!" Li Zhenliang and Liu Haoran immediately separated. One went to the door to block the people who were still trying to squeeze in, while the other went to the counter to calm the noisy crowd. "Comrades, making noise won't solve anything! The Economic Crime Investigation Team of the Public Security Bureau will be here soon. Everyone, please register first, and we guarantee that you will not lose a single penny of your money."
Zhou Wei then went to the inside of the counter and whispered to Xiao Liu, who was so frightened she was about to cry.
Jiang Ling walked straight to Zhang Chunhua, who was slumped on the ground.
She crouched down, her voice softening, carrying a reassuring strength: "Sister, don't be afraid. I'm a police officer. What's your name? What unit are you from?"
Zhang Chunhua raised her tear-filled face and looked at the young yet remarkably calm policewoman before her. Like a drowning person grabbing a bamboo pole extended from the shore, she suddenly found hope: "Officer, please help me! My name is Zhang Chunhua, and I work in the finance department of Limin Supermarket. At the beginning of this month, I deposited five thousand yuan in cash for goods. The passbook was locked in the drawer, and only I know the password. Today, when I came to deposit more money, the teller checked and said my five thousand yuan was gone yesterday—someone withdrew it!"
With trembling hands, she handed the passbook to Jiang Ling. Jiang Ling quickly flipped it open and, sure enough, saw a withdrawal record from yesterday afternoon, amounting to 5,000 yuan, shown as a bank transfer.
Just then, Wang, the branch manager who had been busy calling the police and reporting the situation, hung up the phone and almost staggered to Jiang Ling's side. His face was even more pale than Zhang Chunhua's, and his voice was trembling with tears: "Officers, you've finally come! It wasn't just Sister Zhang; some other people came to make trouble, saying that the money in the account was wrong and had been transferred out. Some were tens of yuan, some were hundreds of yuan, and the transfers all occurred within the last week. We don't know what happened!"
Jiang Ling slowed her pace and spoke gently: "Don't panic. First, take the people from the savings bank and immediately compile all the information on known victims, including deposit time, amount, time and location of withdrawals, and sample signatures on withdrawal slips. Be quick!"
"Okay." This was the first time Bank Manager Wang had encountered such a situation of transferring funds out of thin air. He was like an ant on a hot pan, panicking and running around in circles, unable to find the key point. Now that Jiang Ling was in charge, his mind cleared up a lot, and he immediately got to work organizing the information.
Jiang Ling observed the cash withdrawal counter at the savings bank.
In the 1990s, the process of withdrawing money from a savings bank counter involved six steps: handing over the passbook, filling out a receipt, entering the PIN, verifying the signature, withdrawing cash, and receiving a receipt. There were three key loopholes: the counter was not shielded, making the PIN easy to be seen; the receipt and signature were easy to forge; and the surveillance equipment was outdated.
Upon hearing that Zhang Chunhua's money had been withdrawn, Jiang Ling's first reaction was to investigate these three loopholes.
Jiang Ling asked Zhang Chunhua, "Has the passbook ever left your side? Is it possible that someone saw you when you entered the password?"
Zhang Chunhua shook her head repeatedly: "Impossible! I've always kept my passbook locked in my office drawer. It wasn't stolen, and only I know the password. I deposited this 5,000 yuan at the beginning of the month, and I only found out it was missing when I came to deposit it today! The transfer slip shows that the money was transferred yesterday afternoon, but the signature on it is not mine, and I didn't come to the bank yesterday either."
The more Zhang Chunhua talked, the more suspicious things seemed. Panic gripped her, and she stammered nervously, "Officer, what should we do? My money just disappeared like that? Oh my god..."
That's strange.
If it wasn't theft by human intervention, could it be a vulnerability in the bank's system?
While thinking, Jiang Ling reassured Zhang Chunhua, "Don't be afraid, we will help you get your money back."
The Economic Crime Investigation Division of the Municipal Public Security Bureau arrived quickly, led by Captain Zhao Tiezhu, a stocky, veteran detective with furrowed brows. His team swiftly took over maintaining order at the scene and conducting a preliminary audit of the accounts.
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