I'm so smart! As soon as the Shanghai grandmother finished speaking, something happened!

“Why are you asking me where my money is? I know you’re concerned about whether ordinary people are being scammed, but I’m very smart and won’t be fooled.”

This is 69-year-old Ms. Yu.

In early January of this year,

she told police who came to dissuade her,

However, just 18 days later,

this self-proclaimed “very smart” elderly woman

almost handed over 240,000 yuan in cash

to scammers for nothing.

Recently, Shanghai Changning police

successfully prevented such a case

of false investment and financial scams.

On January 9, 2026, Changning police issued an early warning: Ms. Yu in the district withdrew 150,000 yuan in cash from the bank, with an unclear purpose, posing a risk of being scammed.

When police arrived at the scene, Ms. Yu appeared very calm, repeatedly emphasizing that the withdrawal was for “New Year’s red envelopes and family expenses.” Officers reminded Ms. Yu to be cautious of telecom and online scams during the year-end and New Year period to avoid being deceived. They also included her warning trigger in the “Police-Bank Link” system for ongoing monitoring.

On January 27, 18 days later, the “Police-Bank Link” issued a warning to Ms. Yu, discovering that she had withdrawn a total of 240,000 yuan in cash from multiple bank branches within a few days. Changning police immediately arranged for officers to visit her home again to verify the situation.

This time, when police returned, Ms. Yu was very annoyed, showing nervousness and hesitation, repeatedly insisting: “The money was lent to a friend, no problem, I haven’t been scammed.”

Police judged that she had been deeply brainwashed.

The 150,000 yuan she withdrew last time

was very likely already lost in a scam.

After over an hour of patient communication and guidance from her family,

Ms. Yu finally confessed the truth.

It turned out that in early 2026, Ms. Yu met a stranger online who, using the bait of “state secret investment software” and “guaranteed profit,” induced her to download a chat app and a so-called “investment platform” app, and she made multiple “investment transactions.” The other party even claimed that the software involved state secrets and asked her to keep it confidential, which is why she lied to police during the first visit, saying the red envelopes were for the New Year.

“They said this investment was a state secret and guaranteed to make money, so I believed them,” Ms. Yu recalled. “If you hadn’t kept reminding me, I might have invested the 240,000 yuan too, just like last time.” On January 29, with police escort, Ms. Yu deposited the 240,000 yuan back into the bank.

Currently,

Changning police have arrested

4 individuals involved in withdrawing the money,

and helped Ms. Yu recover more than 100,000 yuan in losses.

The case is under further investigation.

It is understood that “Police-Bank Link” is an application independently developed by Changning police, which effectively breaks down information barriers between police and banks, enabling quick verification and risk warning. When abnormal behaviors such as multiple large withdrawals or cross-bank transactions are detected within a short period, banks will promptly report to Changning police for immediate verification. Since 2026, police have obtained over 50 useful clues through this app, helping the public recover about 3 million yuan in losses.

According to the Shanghai Anti-Telecom Network Fraud Center on March 18, since 2025, the city’s anti-fraud center has promoted a continuous decline in both the number of completed telecom fraud cases and the number of cases filed for seven consecutive years, saving the public over 5.14 billion yuan in potential losses.

Police reminder:

Any scams that use the guise of “state support,” “confidential projects,”

or “guaranteed profit” to induce downloading unknown software or investing are fraudulent.