Two international students were conned out of over €122,000 in recent weeks as officers warn of a new scam doing the rounds.
Both students were approached by people they believed were Chinese officials, and were asked to transfer large sums of money to avoid arrest or other consequences.
According to the report, one student was told by a scammer purporting to be a Chinese police officer that they needed to transfer £70,000 (€81,743) immediately.
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They agreed to hand over the money, and later discovered that it was in fact a scam before reporting it to the PSNI.
Another student was contacted by somebody pretending to be from the Chinese embassy, and was told they faced time behind bars if they did not transfer £35,000 (€40,871) to an account.
PSNI officers are now warning that this is a renewed version of a common scam - but this time it's targeting international students.
There have been plenty of reports in the past where Irish students were being contacted by criminals pretending to be police or government officials requesting money.
However, as scam warnings filled the media and many caught on, these criminals are now targeting students from abroad who may not be aware of it.
PSNI Superintendent Gerard Pollock, chair of the Scamwise NI Partnership, said: "The huge sum of money lost by these students are eye-watering but, unfortunately, all the criminals see is their gain.”
Police will now be working with universities in order to raise awareness about the scams, and to stop others being caught out.
Mr. Pollock said: "The easiest way to stop it is to apply these five rules:
- always hang up the call immediately
- always delete texts requesting personal information or bank account details
- never call the number back
- never click on links in text, or respond to unsolicited texts
- never ever transfer money to another account
"So, it's important to make clear you should never transfer money to another account having received a call from someone you do not know. Hang up the call."
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