Tired of waiting in long lines? Scamsters exploit frustration
Scalpers never miss a good opportunity. At the Minhang Traffic Police bureau, they have been found selling queue numbers to people waiting in long lines to pay fines.
A Minhang resident surnamed Li told police that he went to the office recently and was given queue number 470, which he said would mean about a three-hour wait.
“The whole office was crowded with people,” he said, “so the officials told me I should go copy my driving license and ID card first.”
Outside, at a copy shop across the street, Li found people offering to sell him queue number for 50 yuan (US$7.90). “The man said I would only have to wait for half an hour with that number,” said Li. “But part of the deal was that I had to give my 470 number for free.”
Minhang police investigating the reports said they have detained several scalpers.a
How scam worked
The scam worked like this: the scalper came to the office early in the morning. Using their own drivers’ licenses and ID cards, they obtained low numbers. The numbers were sold on, and the scalpers acquired more numbers to sell later.
“The fines section in Minhang is rather busy, with between 5,000 and 6,000 people coming in every day,” said an official with the Minhang Traffic Police, who asked to remain anonymous. “Every evening, the windows close at 8:30pm, three hours after the usual closing time.”
The office said it plans to introduce a new calling system to put an end to the scalpers. The system will verify a number holder’s identity through cell phone text, said the officials.
Meanwhile, an online system dealing with traffic fines is expected to be put into operation next year. The system will allow people to pay fines via personal computers, tablets and cell phones, officials said.
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