We knew WeChat Pay was versatile, but this is new to us: a thief in Shenzhen's Bao'an District stole the sideview mirror from a car, then attempted to ransom off its location using the popular online payment service.
Here's what happened: on the morning of October 8, in Bao'an, a man by the last name of Jiang discovered that the right sideview mirror of his car was missing. The supporting frame was still there, but the glass had disappeared. At first he wrote it off to a accidental swipe from a passing car, but then he saw a mysterious sticker posted on the right side of his windshield. On the sticker was a QR code, with a phone number listed underneath.
Curious, Jiang tried scanning the QR code with his phone. It brought up a WeChat Pay screen, which only mystified him even more. He then called the number listed underneath the code; after two rings, the call cut off.
Then Jiang received two texts from the number, asking him to pay RMB300 using the QR code in order to get the location of his missing sideview mirror. Finally, Jiang understood; a thief, or thieves, had stolen his mirror and was trying to ransom it back to him.
To learn more, Jiang tried texting the thief. The criminal repeatedly said that once Jiang paid up, he'd be told where his mirror was hidden. Jiang pretended that his mirror wasn't worth RMB300, managing to bargain the price down to only RMB100.
Once Jiang paid up, he was told that the mirror was located "under the back of the car." When he checked there, however, there was nothing to be found. Suspecting that he'd been had (again), he finally called the police.
According to the Shangnan police station, which is currently looking into Jiang's case, two other people reportedly fell victim to similar scams on the same day. All three cases are still being investigated.
Lesson learned: when in doubt, don't pay mysterious thieves over WeChat.
[Images via 6681.com, Roll.sohu.com]
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