Police continue to struggle against a wave of scams, with fraudsters making off with around US$257 million in April alone.
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00:00This woman in her 70s, face not shown for privacy, has just raised alarm bells at her local bank.
00:06She's trying to withdraw around $30,000 for what she says are stem cell injections.
00:11Someone's convinced her not only to take this money out, but to download an investment app where she can wire money to the supposed medical treatment company.
00:19The police are soon involved, and find the woman is yet another senior citizen targeted by scammers.
00:24Taiwan has seen a spike in scams in recent years.
00:41And while their success rate can vary wildly from one month to the next, scammers aren't slowing down this year.
00:47After a dip in January and February, their illicit earnings skyrocketed in March and April.
00:52Last month alone, victims lost around $257 million.
00:57Tackling scams is hard work, as the scammers show innovation.
01:01Lately, smaller-scale online shopping scams are among the most common.
01:05And scammers know how to choose their targets.
01:08Many are senior citizens who may not see or believe red flags.
01:12It took family intervention to save one 65-year-old Taitung County man from losing $3,000 to scammers, peddling a fake miracle cure for men online.
01:22The first thing is, I believe there is no doubt.
01:24I believe there is no doubt.
01:25I believe there is no doubt.
01:26I believe there is no doubt.
01:27I believe there is no doubt.
01:28I believe there is no doubt.
01:29I believe there is no doubt.
01:30Despite occasional successes like this, scammers show few signs of backing down.
01:34In a typical month, police have around 10,000 new cases to deal with.
01:38And the evolution of new tricks means Taiwan's scam problem remains a tough one to crack.
01:43Klein Wang and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.
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