TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Investigation Bureau (CIB) recently warned locals of rampant pre-paid game card scams that many users of the popular free messaging service Line have fallen victim to.

According to the CIB, a total of 126 cases — with victims losing millions of New Taiwan dollars after being tricked into buying pre-paid game cards — had been reported to police this August alone.

One of the cases happened last month when a victim surnamed see was tricked into buying NT $1. 1 million worth of game cards.

The CIB said the 35-year-old see met a girl via Line. She claimed to be a student and a part time prostitute and told see that she would have sex with him in exchange for NT $3,000. The two made an appointment at a designated location, however, the woman did not show up.

See phoned the girl and the latter asked him to buy NT $3,000 worth of pre-paid game cards for online games instead. See ultimately was tricked into buying hundreds more game cards with the total sum reaching NT $1. 1 million before he realized he had been scammed, according to the CIB.

He finally reported the case to the police. He also complained that no one warned him of a possible scam when he bought these game cards at convenience stores.

The CIB warns Line users to be aware of this kind of scam. The CIB also called on convenience store clerks to report suspected fraud cases to the police when they see someone buying a large amount of game cards.
Possible Scammy McScammers on Line
I've been getting quite a few Line adds lately. I replied to a couple to see what was up. Here's the general SOP:

A profile with a cute girl adds you, says nothing.

If you message first, then they reply.

They will say their name.

They ask for your name and where you live.

Then they give you a pitch about being a student or something, and say they date for money.

If you want to meet them, they eventually give you an address.

You go, and they bounce you around a little. Go, here, Ok, go there. I think it's to pull you deeper into the scam.

After 2 or 3 times they want you to go to a convenience and buy some kind of gift card to "trade" with them instead of accepting cash.

I never made it that far as it smelled of scam, but I assume then they somehow try to get you to send them the card info. I have no idea how the cards work, but you probably don't need the physical card to use it. (I got a few to actually ask for the card before even asking for an address, and they all seemed to be going after different ones, but hell if I could figure it out).

Anyway, I assume that after they get whatever info they want they vanish. The script was almost always the same with only a couple minor variations.

Be careful.