So you know those annoying messages you get on your phone?
Me and my British Chinese friends have been getting ones like this for years.
Some of these messages, like this one just now, tell me that I have to call them back because there's a problem with my visa or that there's a problem with a parcel that I've just sent.
But me and my friends, we know that this is fake and this is a pretty basic scam, so we just ignore them.
But now things have escalated.
Some criminals have taken these scams to a terrifying new level where they trick victims into a living nightmare.
A huge criminal industry is targeting Chinese people around the world, exploiting their respect and fear for authority.
The scam starts with one of those calls.
And very quickly the victim finds themselves talking to somebody who says they are a Chinese police officer.
The victims are told by someone who they believe is a Chinese police officer that they have committed some type of crime in China and that they will be deported back to China if they don't abide by the instructions they're given.
And there have been matters where these victims and their families have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Well, I thought I would never feel so scarce.
Well, but I did.
Helen was born in China and has lived in London for 30 years.
Last summer she got a phone call saying Chinese customs had stopped an illegal parcel sent in her name.
Helen hadn' so she's already suspicious when she's transferred to a policeman who introduces himself as Officer Fang.
So after talking, say, how do I know you're real, please.
So switch on WhatsApp, we can connect.
So he connected me that moment on a video call.