LINE friends suddenly become 'unknown'? Criminal Investigation Bureau jointly blocks 73,000 accounts.
Recently, many users in Taiwan discovered that their LINE contact accounts were blocked, chat groups disappeared inexplicably, and even the display names of contacts changed to 'unknown' status. This situation is not due to a program error or malicious software attack, but rather a large-scale fraud prevention measure implemented by the Criminal Investigation Bureau in collaboration with LINE.
According to (Mirror News Network), the Criminal Investigation Bureau has controlled about 73,000 suspected fraudulent LINE accounts, and as of now, more than 50,000 accounts have been suspended. The remaining accounts will be completely blocked before early July.
The police pointed out that members of fraud groups often apply for multiple telecom numbers, register LINE accounts, and then change numbers, repeatedly applying for new accounts, using these accounts to create investment groups to lure the public into being deceived.
Lin Jianlong, head of the Technology Crime Prevention Center of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, stated that this account shutdown operation started with reported fraudulent groups. Law enforcement personnel infiltrated the relevant groups, filtered out suspicious accounts, and then used information provided by LINE to verify with the bound mobile numbers.
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The Criminal Investigation Bureau and LINE's joint defense mechanism is activated to block fraud groups from scamming.
From February to June of this year alone, after analyzing thousands of fraudulent accounts in collaboration with LINE, the Criminal Investigation Bureau identified 45,000 high-risk phone numbers suspected of being used by fraud groups through frequent number changes, along with over 70,000 suspected fraudulent LINE accounts that stemmed from this.
These high-risk phone numbers are not only used to register LINE accounts but are also utilized in online shopping platforms and game accounts for fraud. The Criminal Investigation Bureau has now initiated a 'cross-industry joint defense' strategy, requiring relevant businesses to re-verify accounts registered with high-risk numbers, suspend usage, or implement other proper control measures.
LINE's parent company emphasized that it will strengthen control mechanisms in the future. If a single number applies for more than two accounts, the system will automatically intercept them.
Image source: Flicker Criminal Investigation Bureau, LINE jointly block 73,000 accounts.
The public is worried about their LINE accounts being mistakenly blocked, and the Criminal Investigation Bureau has opened a complaint channel.
Even though the actions of the Criminal Investigation Bureau and LINE to block accounts are well-intended, some netizens are still worried that normal users' LINE accounts might be mistakenly blocked, especially since another social platform under Meta has seen incidents of normal accounts or groups being mistakenly blocked.
Lin Jianlong responded that the police have established a complaint mechanism. If you are a normal LINE user whose account has been suspended, you can submit a complaint through LINE. After receiving the complaint, LINE will forward the relevant information to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, where dedicated personnel will verify it.
However, the police revealed that since the operation began on June 11, the actual number of complaints submitted has been extremely rare, with only one person filing complaints to both LINE and the Criminal Investigation Bureau simultaneously. However, after the complainant was asked basic questions about the ownership of the phone number, they did not respond further.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau assessed that this might be an attempt by fraud group personnel to test the police's handling procedures.
(United News Network) reports that in order to prevent mistakenly blocking general users' LINE accounts, the Criminal Investigation Bureau initially suspended hundreds of accounts on a small scale. After confirming that the suspension mechanism was correct, they executed a large-scale account suspension operation, and so far, no cases of ordinary citizens being mistakenly blocked have been discovered.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau stressed that if you confirm that you have been mistakenly blocked, you can safely handle it through the complaint process and reminded the public to avoid joining investment groups of unknown origin and suspicious 'investment teacher' accounts to avoid falling into fraud traps.
'LINE fights fraud and blocks 73,000 accounts! The public fears normal users might be mistakenly blocked, the Criminal Investigation Bureau: If mistakenly blocked, you can complain.' This article was first published on 'Encrypted City.'