The first fraud case  that a forged official document written in foreign language  in the name of the Director-General of the National Police Agency (NPA) was reported to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) last month.  A citizen in Changhua County surnamed Chang received an email claiming to be an overseas courier company. The email came attached with a fake official document in English with a forged signature of the Director-General of the NPA. The email claimed that cash contained in the consigned items were seized by the NPA and Mr. Chang was required to pay a declaration fee of £3,500, otherwise the goods would be confiscated. The email also claimed that this fee was charged due to the war in Russia and Ukraine  because the Taiwanese government wanted to prevent people from financing the war. Mr. Chang identified the email as suspicious and promptly reported to the police, thus averting any personal financial loss.

The CIB advised that fraud syndicates often send random emails or text messages under the pretense of government agencies.  These scams often   make the   victim anxious with messages such as "package is waiting for delivery but encountered problems" and other reasons, asking victims to remit money within the deadline. The victim falls victim when they are convinced by the presentation of "forged official documents" from a supposed government agency that requires the victim's cooperation in "monitoring the account, paying back taxes or administrative fees."

The CIB pointed out that the police and criminal investigation units will not produce full English documents and will not send official documents by e-mail to ask any citizen to pay any fees.  When necessary, subjects involved in a particular case will be notified by official notice to  appear for interrogation or to pay due fees at a designated public institution.  Citizens are advised to check whether or not the sender's domain and URL are suspicious and  call "110" to notify the police  or "165" for anti-fraud inquiries if necessary.