A freshman at Capital Medical University was defrauded of nearly 1.8 million yuan, of which 370,000 yuan was used to purchase cryptocurrency.

A first-year undergraduate at Capital Medical University was defrauded of nearly 1.8 million yuan by scammers impersonating Shanghai police, with police emergency stop-payment measures recovering 370,000 yuan and leaving actual losses of over 1.42 million yuan. The fraud began on September 23, when the student was told they were a suspect in a case and was kept from seeking outside help under the guise of case confidentiality. From October 15, the scammers demanded "release on bail" deposits paid through multiple channels: the victim withdrew 370,000 yuan in cash to buy cryptocurrency, handed over 200,000 yuan in cash and 450 grams of gold, and transferred 710,000 yuan online. The case highlights how crypto purchases are increasingly used as a settlement channel in Chinese telecom fraud, and the 370,000 yuan intercepted by police shows emergency stop-payment can still claw back funds when reported quickly. What to watch next is whether the remaining 1.42 million yuan is recovered and whether the university and local police expand anti-fraud warnings to incoming students.