Chinese authorities have rounded up more than 200 people suspected of participating in a massive bankcard phishing scheme that may have netted as much as a billion yuan ($159 million). During the arrests, police also confiscated thousands of bankcards.

1. By PresenterMedia.com

2. Chinese authorities have rounded
up more than 200 people
suspected of participating in a
massive bankcard phishing
scheme that may have netted as
much as a billion yuan ($159
million). During the arrests, police
also confiscated thousands of
bankcards.

3. Quoting a report from China's
Xinhua News Agency, the Global
Times said the arrests followed an
investigation that began last
November when Chinese police
arrested two Taiwanese in the act of
using a counterfeit bank card to
withdraw cash from an ATM.

4. The Times reported that the case
involves more money and more
suspects than any previous bankcard
fraud scam in China. Authorities
believe the fraud originated with
suspects in South Korea who obtained
card data from bank customers in
China by posing as bank
officials calling customers about their
at-risk accounts.

5. Victims were directed to an official-
looking website where they were
instructed to log on using their
account number and password. This
information was then passed on to
Taiwanese fraudsters who used the it
to create fake bank cards, the Times
report said.