Investigators across districts in Shanghai have teamed up to track down the masterminds of a bogus-police scam who have pocketed more than 5 million yuan (US$732,000) from the city's senior citizens.

The victims have been targeted over the phone and tricked out of bank savings.

The swindlers convinced their victims into believing they were police officers offering to secure their money in bank accounts "at risk of being stolen."

Police believed the cases are connected and a team of investigators have left Shanghai hunting the suspects who are believed to have made the calls from outside the city.

The youngest of the victims are in their 50s. Police said these people were vulnerable as they were generally less familiar with bank-account transfer practices and rules.

On October 6, a Shanghai man, Zhang Xin, aged in his 70s, and his wife were swindled out of 300,000 yuan, almost all of their savings.

Zhang told police he received a call at home and a man told him he was from the Telecommunications Bureau, a city phone and cable-service provider, saying a 1,689-yuan phone bill was long overdue.

"When I said we paid our bill on time every month, the guy said the unpaid bill came from a home phone registered under my name in another district,'' Zhang said.

The man then told Zhang his personal information could have been stolen to register for the telephone and that his family bank account was in jeopardy.

The man put Zhang through on the phone to the "district police bureau office."

"I heard sounds of walkie-talkies and police sirens which made me believe the call was from a police station,'' Zhang said.

"The officer" then told Zhang police could help him protect his money in the bank but he should cancel the old accounts and put his money into new ones.

Zhang canceled his and his wife's bank accounts and distributed the 300,000 yuan to six new accounts he opened at three different banks.

Instructions continued on his mobile phone at a bank outlet as he was told to insert the six new bank cards into ATM machines and press a series of numbers.

He was told this would guarantee his personal data is secure. The opposite was the case as all the new accounts were stripped.

Officers said money stolen varied but that 800,000 yuan was taken in a single case. Most people lost between 30,000 and 50,000 yuan.

"They just make calls in the daytime when the middle-aged and seniors, who are mostly retired, are at home alone,'' said a police officer.

Police have informed bank outlets and residential committees to put up posters warning of the scam.

Victims were from different areas and in Jing'an District alone, the swindlers had made off with 1.7 million yuan from 14 people, police said.

(Shanghai Daily October 17, 2008)