『Australia,澳大利亚』 5 scamms, money-laundering, larceny, burglary, theft, Australian Federal Police 2024.8.29-9.27

Chinese national living unlawfully in Australia denied bail over phishing scam involving millions of fraudulent texts

In short:
Jiahui Liu has been refused bail over his alleged involvement in a major phishing scam in which 4.9 million fake texts were sent to Australian phones.
The Chinese national was living in Australia on an expired visa and denied knowing he was part of a scam.
What’s next?
The case will return to court in October.

A Chinese national charged over an elaborate phishing scam involving millions of fraudulent text messages had been living in Australia unlawfully and trying to avoid detection, a court has heard.

Jiahui Liu, 30, was arrested by cybercrime detectives on Tuesday after police executed a search warrant at his share house in the Townsville suburb of Aitkenvale.

Police allege he used a SIM box device to send 4.9 million text messages purporting to be from Centrelink, Medicare, Australia Post, Commonwealth Bank, Transurban, and Linkt.

Victims were allegedly directed to websites in an attempt to steal their money and personal information.

Mr Liu was refused bail in the Townsville Magistrates Court on Friday after a Mandarin interpreter was brought in to assist proceedings.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Tim Madsen said the alleged offending was serious.

“It’s clearly used to facilitate either a criminal organisation or individuals in order to defraud members of the community in Australia,” Sergeant Madsen said.

Defendant denied knowledge of the scam

Mr Liu is facing one charge of possessing equipment for the purpose of obtaining identity information.

Police allege they located 1,265 SIM cards in the defendant’s bedroom and a SIM box capable of sending mass messages.

Acting Magistrate Kerri Fredericks said when interviewed Mr Liu told police he had found out about a “part-time job” on Chinese social media app WeChat.

“He told police he was initially sent the SIM box and 100 to 200 SIM cards in the mail,” Magistrate Fredericks said.

“He was told to hook it up to a computer and someone else had remote access to set it up.

“After this, he then sent photos of the SIM cards to someone known as the ‘Big C’ so they could be activated.”

The court heard Mr Liu would change the SIM cards each night and was paid in Chinese yuan for every night he operated the SIM box.

“He denied knowing they were scams and believed the messages were advertising,” Magistrate Fredericks said.

“He wasn’t suspicious about this work.”

Avoiding detection

The court was told Mr Liu arrived in Perth in December 2019 on a working holiday visa.

He moved to Townsville in March and police allege he took steps to avoid his whereabouts being known to authorities.

That included having a phone service registered in another name, directing his mail to a massage parlour, failing to update his details with government agencies, and living in a share house with no utilities recorded under his name.

The court heard his latest visa expired in August and he had been living unlawfully in Australia.

Legal Aid lawyer Carly Hoyer said Mr Liu had been unable to contact his family in China since his arrest on Tuesday.

“This has been a very distressing time for him,” Ms Hoyer said.

She said her client wanted to resolve the matter as quickly as possible so he could return home.

‘Unacceptable risk’

Mr Liu’s passport was seized after his arrest, which Ms Hoyer argued mitigated the risk associated with granting her client bail.

The court heard that if the defendant was released from custody, he would be taken to an immigration detention facility.

Magistrate Fredericks rejected the bail application.

“I am satisfied there is an unacceptable risk that if released, he may fail to appear or surrender into custody or an unacceptable risk he may commit a further offence,” she said.

Mr Liu was remanded in custody and the case will return to court in October.

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非法居澳中國男子涉嫌網絡詐騙被起訴

日前，一名非法居住在澳洲的中國男性公民因涉嫌發送欺詐短信進行網絡詐騙而遭到警方逮捕，他被拒絕保釋。

據澳大利亞廣播公司（ABC）報導，該犯罪嫌疑人叫劉家輝（Jiahui Liu，音譯），現年30嵗，被捕前住在湯斯維爾（Townsville）艾特肯維爾（Aitkenvale）郊區的一棟合租房屋。9月24日，昆州警方對該房產執行搜查令後，劉家輝隨即遭到逮捕。

警方稱，劉家輝使用SIM卡盒設備（向澳洲人）發送了490萬條詐騙短信，據稱這些短信假裝來自Centrelink、Medicare、澳大利亞郵政、聯邦銀行、Transurban和Linkt。

據稱，受害者收到這些短信後被引導至詐騙網站，行騙者試圖竊取他們的金錢和個人信息。

9月27日，在一名普通話翻譯協助訴訟後，劉先生在湯斯維爾地方法院被拒絕保釋。

警方檢察官馬德森（Tim Madsen）警長表示，該嫌犯觸犯的罪行嚴重。他說：「（劉先生）顯然是為犯罪組織或個人提供便利，以詐騙澳大利亞社區成員。」

劉先生面臨一項為獲取身分信息而持有設備的指控。

警方稱，他們在被告的臥室內發現了1,265張SIM卡以及一個能夠發送群發信息的SIM卡盒。

代理法官弗雷德里克斯（Kerri Fredericks）表示，劉先生在接受警方詢問時稱，他在中國社交媒體——微信上發現了一份「兼職工作」。

弗雷德里克斯說：「劉先生最初通過郵件收到了SIM盒和100到200張SIM卡。他被告知將其連接到計算機上，而其他人則可以遠程訪問來設置它。此後，他將SIM卡的照片發送給一個被稱為『Big C』的人，以便激活它們。」

法庭獲悉，劉先生每晚都會更換SIM卡，並且他每晚操作SIM卡盒的費用都是人民幣。

弗雷德里克斯還稱：「他否認知道這些信息是騙局，並認為這些信息是廣告。他對這項工作並不懷疑。」

法庭獲悉，劉家輝於2019年12月持打工度假簽證抵達珀斯。

他於三月搬到湯斯維爾，警方稱他採取了一些措施避免當局知道他的行蹤，其中包括以他人名義註冊電話服務、將郵件寄往按摩院、未向政府機構更新詳細資料，以及住在沒有水電費記錄的合租房裡。

法庭獲悉，劉家輝的簽證已於八月到期，之後，他一直非法居住在澳大利亞。

劉先生被捕後，他的護照被沒收。

法庭獲悉，如果被告被保釋，他將被帶到移民拘留所。

弗雷德里克斯法官拒絕了劉先生的保釋申請。劉先生已被還押，此案將於十月重新開庭審理。

(Victoria Police Breaking news)
Seven teenagers charged following aggravated burglary across Melbourne’s North
Published: Monday 16 September 2024 at 2:40 am

Moorabbin Crime Investigation Unit detectives have charged seven people following an aggravated burglary in Williamstown earlier this week.

It is alleged the offenders attended a gym on Ripon Street in Elsternwick in a stolen Kia Carnival and stole a Mazda 3 before fleeing the scene in both cars about 11pm on 12 September.

The group then allegedly broke into a property on Hannan Street in Williamstown armed with weapons.

Once inside they allegedly stole cash, jewellery and a Mercedes GT.

Police later recovered the stolen Mazda 3 on Bank Street in South Melbourne and arrested four people at the scene about 3am.

A 15-year-old Brighton girl was charged with burglary, aggravated burglary and three counts of theft of motor vehicle.

She has been remanded to a children’s court at a later date.

A 14-year-old Wheelers Hill boy, a 15-year-old Leongatha boy and a 15-year-old Cowes boy were charged with burglary, aggravated burglary and three counts of theft of motor vehicle.

All three were bailed to appear at a children’s court at a later date.

On 13 September, officers recovered the Kia Carnival on Dover Street in Williamstown.

A day later, detectives allegedly located three people at a property in Burwood East and recovered the Mercedes GT from an underground carpark.

A 15-year-old Pakenham girl and a 15-year-old Traralgon boy were charged with theft of motor vehicle.

Both were bailed to appear at a children’s court at a later date.

A 14-year-old Hampton Park boy was also charged with burglary, aggravated burglary and three counts of theft of motor vehicle.

He has been remanded to appear at a children’s court at a later date.

Caitlin Knight

Media Unit

130657

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(维多利亚警察局 新闻发布)
墨尔本北部发生严重入室盗窃案，七名青少年被指控
已发布: 2024 年 9 月 16 日星期一凌晨 2:40

本周早些时候，威廉斯敦发生一起恶性入室盗窃案，穆拉宾犯罪调查组侦探已对 7 人提出指控。

据称，罪犯于 9 月 12 日晚上 11 点左右驾驶一辆偷来的起亚嘉年华前往埃尔斯特恩威克里彭街的一家健身房，并偷了一辆马自达 3，然后驾驶两辆车逃离现场。

据称，该团伙随后携带武器闯入威廉斯敦汉南街的一处房屋。

据称，进入屋内后，他们偷走了现金、珠宝和一辆奔驰 GT。

警方随后在南墨尔本银行街追回了被盗的马自达 3，并于凌晨 3 点左右在现场逮捕了 4 人。

一名 15 岁的布莱顿女孩被指控犯有入室盗窃、严重入室盗窃和三项机动车盗窃罪。

她稍后将被送往儿童法庭。

一名 14 岁的惠勒斯山男孩、一名 15 岁的利昂加塔男孩和一名 15 岁的考斯男孩被指控犯有入室盗窃、严重入室盗窃和三项机动车盗窃罪。

三人均已获保释，稍后将在儿童法庭出庭受审。

9 月 13 日，警察在威廉斯敦的多佛街追回了一辆起亚嘉年华。

一天后，侦探们据称在 Burwood East 的一处房产内找到了三人，并从地下停车场找到了那辆奔驰 GT。

一名 15 岁的帕肯汉姆女孩和一名 15 岁的特拉拉尔贡男孩被控盗窃机动车。

两人均已获得保释，稍后将在儿童法庭出庭受审。

一名 14 岁的汉普顿公园男孩还被指控犯有入室盗窃、严重入室盗窃和三项机动车盗窃罪。

他已被还押，稍后将前往儿童法庭出庭。

(The Australian Federal Police News Centre – Media release)
AFP warning over rise of sadistic sextortion online
06 September 2024, 7:11am

The AFP is warning parents and guardians over a concerning online trend emerging in Australia involving young victims who are being coerced into producing extreme sexual and violent content over the internet.

Sadistic sextortion is a rising online crime type that involves extreme online groups targeting children as young as twelve years old on social media and messaging platforms to coerce them to self-produce explicit material to gain acceptance into extreme online communities.

These online communities use different names and monikers to operate on social media or messaging platforms, and consist of members from all around the world. To gain access to a majority of these groups, prospective members are coerced by group members to produce or live-stream explicit content online.

In some cases, the offenders are the same age as the victims being targeted.

AFP intelligence has identified that sadistic sextortion offenders will initiate an online relationship with a victim on social media or messaging platform before encouraging them to produce an image or video performing an explicit sexual or violent act.

The offender will then share the content with other members in the online group, who will attempt to extort the victim by threatening to share the material with their family or friends, unless the victim produces more videos and extreme content.

The offender will relentlessly demand more content from victims that often continues to escalate in its seriousness including specific live sex acts, animal cruelty, serious self-harm, and live online suicide.

The Western Australia Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) commenced an investigation into reports of an alleged serious sadistic sextortion offender in WA, 14, accused of targeting victims around the world in 2022.

Police seized the offender’s phone and later identified child abuse material (CAM) and videos of animal cruelty.

The offender was charged and received a juvenile caution in relation to the matter.

AFP Commander of Human Exploitation and the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Helen Schneider said intelligence received by the ACCCE suggested most offenders in extreme online groups were not motivated by money, but were instead focused on obtaining status or notoriety within the group.

“Unlike sextortion, these offenders are not motivated by financial gain. Instead, they are driven by exploiting vulnerable victims into producing abhorrent content for their deranged amusement,” Commander Schneider said.

“Unfortunately, some victims in these groups, do not see themselves as victims. They do not believe they are being coerced into performing these extremely horrific acts and therefore are unlikely to report it to the authorities.

“Without information or assistance from victims and members of the public, it can be extremely difficult for police to identify offenders and shutdown these dangerous groups.”

Commander Schneider said the AFP urged parents and guardians to be aware of the warning signs of young people being groomed by coercive groups online.

‘If parents believe their child is engaging in harmful activity online, it’s important to have a conversation with them to understand the situation and provide appropriate support,” Commander Schneider said.

“Warning signs children may be engaging in harmful activity online may include increased screen-time on computers or phones, isolating themselves from friends and family or being secretive about who they are interacting with online.

“Whether a child is or has been a victim of sextortion online, please reassure them it’s not their fault and report it to the ACCCE.”

Note to media

Use of term ‘CHILD ABUSE’ MATERIAL not ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’
The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material – the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

Use of the phrase ‘child pornography’ is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:
indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and
conjures images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.

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澳大利亚联邦警察(AFP)警告：网络虐待性勒索行为增多

AFP警告家长和监护人，澳大利亚出现一种令人担忧的网络趋势，年轻受害者被迫在互联网上制作极端色情和暴力内容。

虐待性性勒索是一种日益严重的网络犯罪类型，极端网络团体在社交媒体和通讯平台上针对年仅 12 岁的儿童，强迫他们自行制作露骨内容，以获得极端网络社区的认可。

这些在线社区使用不同的名称和昵称在社交媒体或消息平台上运营，成员来自世界各地。为了加入其中的大多数团体，潜在成员会被团体成员强迫在网上制作或直播露骨内容。

在某些情况下，犯罪者的年龄与受害者相同。

AFP情报发现，虐待狂性勒索罪犯会在社交媒体或通讯平台上与受害者建立在线关系，然后鼓励他们制作出实施露骨性行为或暴力行为的图片或视频。

然后，罪犯会与在线群组中的其他成员分享这些内容，这些成员会试图通过威胁与家人或朋友分享这些材料来勒索受害者，除非受害者制作更多的视频和极端内容。

犯罪者会不断向受害者索要更多内容，其严重性往往会不断升级，包括具体的现场性行为、虐待动物、严重自残和在线直播自杀。

西澳大利亚州联合反儿童剥削小组 (WA JACET) 已开始对西澳大利亚州一名涉嫌严重虐待性勒索罪犯的报道进行调查，该罪犯现年 14 岁，被指控于 2022 年针对世界各地的受害者实施犯罪。

警方没收了罪犯的手机，随后发现了虐待儿童的材料（CAM）和虐待动物的视频。

该罪犯已被指控，并因此事受到少年警告。

澳大利亚联邦警察人类剥削问题指挥官兼澳大利亚联邦警察领导的澳大利亚反儿童剥削中心 (ACCCE) 海伦施耐德表示，ACCCE 收到的情报表明，极端网络团体中的大多数罪犯并不是受金钱驱使，而是着眼于在团体中获得地位或名声。

“与性勒索不同，这些罪犯的动机并非经济利益。相反，他们利用脆弱的受害者来制作令人憎恶的内容，以满足他们疯狂的娱乐需求，”施奈德指挥官说。

“不幸的是，这些团体中的一些受害者并不认为自己是受害者。他们不认为自己是被胁迫实施这些极其恐怖的行为，因此不太可能向当局举报。

“如果没有受害者和公众的信息或帮助，警方将很难识别罪犯并取缔这些危险团体。”

施奈德表示，联邦警察敦促父母和监护人注意年轻人受到网上胁迫团体诱导的警告信号。

施奈德指挥官说：“如果父母认为他们的孩子在网上从事有害活动，那么与他们交谈以了解情况并提供适当的支持非常重要。”

“儿童可能正在从事有害的在线活动的警告信号包括增加使用电脑或手机的时间、孤立自己与朋友和家人或对自己在网上互动的人保密。

“无论孩子是否是或曾经是网络性勒索的受害者，请向他们保证这不是他们的错，并向 ACCCE 报告。”

致媒体
使用术语“虐待儿童”材料而不是“儿童色情”
正确的法律术语是“虐待儿童材料”——这一措辞是 2019 年联邦立法的修正案之一，旨在更准确地反映罪行的严重性和对受害者造成的伤害。
使用“儿童色情”这一短语是不准确的，并且会使儿童性虐待者受益，因为它：
表明受害者的合法性和顺从性，因此也表明施虐者的合法性；
让人联想到孩子们摆出“挑逗性”的姿势，而不是遭受可怕的虐待。

(NSW Police Force News)
Memorial plaques stolen from cemetery – Murwillumbah
Thursday, 29 August 2024 03:09:26 PM

An investigation is underway after 17 memorial plaques were stolen from a cemetery.

Police have been told between Wednesday 21 August 2024 and Monday 26 August 2024, the 17 plaques were stolen from headstones at a cemetery on Tree Street, Murwillumbah.

Police are investigating links to a similar incident last week, where between Monday 19 August and Tuesday 20 August 2024, more than 100 plaques were stolen from a cemetery on Kirkwood Road, Tweed Heads South.

All 102 plaques stolen from the Tweed Heads South cemetery were later discovered nearby, along with a crowbar and set of screwdrivers, which are undergoing forensic examination.

Tweed/Byron Police District Crime Manager, Acting Inspector Russell Ewing, said the thefts had hurt local families still grieving loved ones.

“Stealing from a cemetery is not only a deeply disrespectful act, but is also incredibly hurtful to the families and friends who have lost loved ones,” A/Insp Ewing said.

“These plaques represent the memories of those who have passed, and their theft is a callous violation of a sacred space.”

Anyone who has seen anything suspicious in the area, or who has any information about the location of the stolen plaques, is urged to contact Tweed/Byron Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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新南威尔士州警察消息
墓地纪念牌匾被盗 – Murwillumbah

17 块纪念牌匾从墓地被盗，目前案件正在调查中。

警方获悉，2024 年 8 月 21 日星期三至 2024 年 8 月 26 日星期一期间，位于 Murwillumbah 区 Tree Street 的一处墓地的墓碑上的 17 块墓碑被盗。

警方正在调查与上周类似事件的联系，2024 年 8 月 19 日星期一至 8 月 20 日星期二期间，特威德海兹南区柯克伍德路的一处墓地有 100 多块牌匾被盗。

后来，从特威德海兹南公墓被盗的全部 102 块墓碑都在附近被发现，同时发现的还有一根撬棍和一套螺丝刀，目前正在进行法医检验。

特威德/拜伦警区犯罪经理、代理督察拉塞尔·尤因 (Russell Ewing) 表示，这些盗窃案给当地家庭造成了巨大的伤害，他们至今仍在哀悼亲人。

“从墓地偷东西不仅是一种极其不尊重的行为，而且对失去亲人的家人和朋友也是一种极大的伤害，”督察 Ewing 说道。

“这些牌匾代表着已故者的回忆，偷窃它们是对神圣空间的无情侵犯。”

任何人若在该地区发现任何可疑情况，或掌握被盗牌匾位置的信息，请联系特威德/拜伦警察局或犯罪热线 1800 333 000。