1. Honest people buy coins, why is the bank card frozen? Clean money doesn't help!
This is exactly what happened to Mr. Chen from Hangzhou: he transferred 50,000 via WeChat to the seller on a trading platform to buy coins, and the next day, both his WeChat and salary card were frozen, making it impossible to withdraw his child's tuition. The key is that his card was frozen by police from another region, and he couldn't even find someone to reason with.
The core issue lies here:
The police investigate cases by looking at the 'entire line' of transactions, not caring whether you're a good person or not.
Even if your money is perfectly clean, as long as the seller's account receiving your payment is 'dirty' (for example, it previously received scammed funds), the police will freeze all recent transactions of that account to cut off the flow of dirty money. This is akin to going to a convenience store to buy a bottle of water, only to have the police seize your purchase because the owner sold counterfeit goods yesterday. A freeze could last for years, not just three or five days.
Some people had their cards frozen in 2022, and they still haven't been unfrozen! Dirty money often changes hands several times (victim → scammer → intermediary → seller → you), and the police have to investigate layer by layer, often taking at least six months, with extensions for freezing happening two or three times being very common.
How terrible is it when a card is frozen? Running around may not guarantee it gets unfrozen!
Mr. Chen is trying to unfreeze it:
Gather a pile of materials: transaction screenshots, chat records, transfer vouchers, photocopy of ID, and also handwrite several pages explaining the situation, why you bought the coins, and where the money came from. Running around across provinces: the card was frozen by the police in a certain county in Hebei, and even if you are in Hangzhou, you have to take leave and fly over, spending over 4000 on tickets and hotels, only to be told to 'wait for notice' after finishing the statement. Money may go down the drain: if the seller's account was indeed used by a scammer, the money may have been transferred away, making it difficult for the police to recover. Mr. Chen's card has been frozen for two months without resolution, and he almost missed his mortgage payment, leading to daily arguments at home.
Personal opinion: Don't believe the nonsense that 'cooperating with the investigation will unfreeze your account'! Without a lawyer's help, it's hard for ordinary people to even reach the investigating officer's phone, let alone communicate across provinces.
Three, four life-saving experiences, all earned through blood and tears
Based on lawyer cases and victims I've interacted with, to avoid such traps, you must stick to these few points:
Never engage in private transactions, no matter how cheap it seems.
There are cheap fan pictures, listening to the seller's persuasion to transfer privately via WeChat, but after the money was transferred, the coins never arrived, and the seller blocked him. Later, the police showed up saying that account was involved in fraud, and even his money was frozen.
Key point: Before making a payment, you must verify the seller's account displayed on the platform (last four digits of the bank card, WeChat name symbols); even a single character off could mean it's a scammer (for example, 'Zhang San' changed to 'Zhang San⁃').
Store three types of transaction evidence; missing even one makes it hard to prove your case.
Screenshots of platform orders (including time, both party's accounts), electronic receipts of transfers (with transaction numbers), and all chat records with the seller.
Don't be lazy! Some people lost records due to phone flashing, and the police don't recognize it, leading to an extra six months delay in unfreezing. It’s recommended to keep everything in both cloud storage and phone albums.
If something feels off, act immediately! Don't delay even for 10 minutes.
Paid but haven't received the coins? The platform indicates the seller is acting suspiciously? Quickly do these three things:
1. Contact platform customer service to freeze the order;
2. Call 110 for a police report;
3. Proactively contact the police about the frozen card to explain the situation (there's a phone number on the freeze notice).
Some people hesitated for three days without taking action, and the police suspected they 'knowingly engaged in fraud', making it twice as difficult to unfreeze.
Stick to established merchants; don't look for unfamiliar faces.
Experienced players know to stick to a few reliable merchants (platform rating above 4.8, over 10,000 transactions), which halves the risk. Legitimate businesses are willing to provide a business license (with redacted information) and even video identity verification, while scammers block you as soon as you ask for credentials.
The cryptocurrency market has both opportunities and risks; staying vigilant and seizing the right moment is key. If you want to delve deeper into the crypto world but don't know where to start, want to quickly gain insights and understand the information gap, click on my profile to follow me for firsthand information and in-depth analysis!
