In a post circulated online, a netizen from Fujian Province claimed that after purchasing an iPhone in Hong Kong, his bank card was frozen due to anti-fraud measures. A message from China Merchants Bank revealed that the bank received instructions from the public security bureau to implement “temporary protective measures” on his account, suspending both counter and non-counter transactions. Another netizen stated that after paying a training fee of 1600 yuan, her bank card was put on hold, leaving her life expenses locked in the card just before the start of classes. These incidents have sparked criticism from netizens about the impact of anti-fraud measures on normal life.
According to a post dated September 25th that went viral on the internet, it mentioned, “I went to Hong Kong, bought an iPhone, and then all my bank accounts were frozen, saying they were worried I had been cheated. Anti-fraud measures nowadays are really impressive.” Some netizens inquired if the individual exchanged money or used the bank card for payment in Hong Kong. The person clarified that they paid for the phone directly on the Apple official website using a UnionPay card, and used Alipay for subway payments, with other expenses paid in cash.
Mr. Zhou, who repairs Apple phones, mentioned to Epoch Times that many people go to Hong Kong to buy iPhones because of the functional differences between the domestic and Hong Kong versions, as well as concerns about personal data storage. He explained, “The domestic version of the iPhone, known as the ‘castrated version,’ disables FaceTime Audio and group calls in mainland China, and the ‘full-blooded version’ with ChatGPT function of Apple’s intelligence cannot be used either. Mainland China’s iCloud is operated by Guizhou on the Cloud, and many people worry about data leakage, so they buy Apple phones in Hong Kong.”
The individual shared a message from China Merchants Bank stating that, in order to protect the account funds, temporary protective measures were implemented on their account ending in 0057 according to a public security instruction, resulting in the suspension of both counter and non-counter transactions. Another message cited measures under the “Anti-Telecom Network Fraud Law,” without specifying which transaction triggered the alert.
The person claimed that all their bank cards were frozen. However, the screenshots publicly available only show restrictions on one of their China Merchants Bank accounts, and the situation with other accounts cannot be verified based on the screenshot.
A netizen in the comment section remarked, “Your money is not really your money, your experience proves this statement well.” Others shared similar experiences where their accounts were restricted due to anti-fraud measures, and they were asked to submit materials such as social security certificates or to complain to regulatory authorities before being able to unfreeze their accounts.
David from Guangdong told reporters that recently many of his friends had their bank accounts restricted due to transfers. He mentioned, “Nowadays, it’s quite common for banks to freeze accounts. I used to think China Merchants Bank rarely froze customer accounts. In August, I bought two DJI drones in Hong Kong intending to gift them to my niece overseas. I swiped the card twice, and as a result, the card was frozen. Previously, China Construction Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank were stricter, but now China Merchants Bank is also stringent.”
An individual in a post on Xiaohongshu mentioned that after paying a 1600 yuan training fee, she received a call from anti-fraud personnel. Later, the police visited her, checked and photographed pages, messages, and WeChat chats on her phone, stating that the recipient account was involved in fraud, warning her to be cautious of online training course registrations.
She verified the training company’s qualifications, reviewed contracts and related videos before the transfer. The recipient used a company’s public account, and she received an invoice after payment. She believed the tuition fee was legitimate, but after the police left, her China Merchants Bank card remained restricted.
After contacting the authorities, she was informed that the card would be automatically unrestricted after a month, during which only deposits were allowed, while withdrawals were not. Two days later, the bank sent a message lifting the restrictions on the account, but it was once again subjected to “protection.” She wrote in the post, “Fine, still rotating ‘protection’ every 48 hours.”
A netizen commented, “Exactly, not only can’t you eat because you’re cheated by scammers, but you also can’t eat because you’re blocked by anti-fraud measures.” Another person said, “Anti-fraud measures are scarier than scammers, isolation is scarier than viruses.”
Mr. Liu from Hebei told reporters that in mainland China, any fund transaction may be subject to authorities’ monitoring. He mentioned, “The Communist Party monitors every penny’s inflow and outflow through big data. A friend of mine who is in trade had his account inexplicably frozen by the bank, stating it was to protect his funds, and he had to personally go from Inner Mongolia to Baoding’s Industrial and Commercial Bank to sign documents.”
From the experiences of the netizens mentioned above, after an account is restricted, some contacted the police to inquire about the unfreezing time, some were asked to submit materials to the bank, while others claim that a complaint to regulatory authorities is necessary for account unfreezing. As for when the accounts can be used again, the individuals often find it difficult to obtain a clear response.
The Communist Party’s “Anti-Telecom Network Fraud Law” gives banks and payment institutions broad disposal rights. For accounts identified as abnormal or suspicious transactions, institutions can verify transactions, reconfirm identities, and delay, restrict, or suspend transactions based on risk. The Public Security Ministry of China also launched the “National Anti-Fraud Center” app in 2021, claiming it can be used for fraud alerts and reporting clues.
Many netizens question that anti-fraud measures primarily restrict the account holder’s right to control their own property, criticizing the authorities for continuously strengthening real-name registration for phones and financial monitoring, while telecom fraud has not been eliminated, and a single payment or overseas consumption may result in account freezes.