When Jenny Fan got a phone call in early February she thought she had won a lucky draw. The caller, who said he represented a skincare company, told Jenny — a college sophomore in the northern Chinese province of Hebei — that she was eligible for Rmb1,000 (£117) in compensation. The reason? Three months previously she had bought a Rmb200 facial cream that didn’t work on her skin.
The man “claimed to be a customer service representative for the cream maker”, said Jenny. “He provided all the purchase details, including even a snapshot of the transaction record, so I found it difficult not to trust him.”
To claim the money, he told Jenny that she must set up a “special payment channel” by making multiple “test” fund transfers to a custodial account. Once the system was in place, Jenny would receive a refund plus the compensation.