Penghu:Three men are facing a request for court-approved detention after allegedly attempting to fraudulently claim a NT$10 million (US$306,000) Taiwan receipt lottery prize using stolen electronic invoice information. Penghu County prosecutors revealed this on Tuesday.
According to Focus Taiwan, the suspects, identified as two men surnamed Chang, aged 28 and 24, and another man surnamed Hsu, were taken in for questioning on Monday. Following this, prosecutors asked the Penghu District Court to hold them incommunicado on fraud charges.
The investigation revealed that the 28-year-old Chang recently attempted to redeem two NT$10 million Special Prize electronic receipts at a financial institution in Penghu, while the younger Chang sought to claim a separate NT$200,000 winning receipt. Bank employees became suspicious due to the elder Chang's nervous demeanor and the rarity of attempting to redeem two NT$10 million prizes simultaneously, leading them to halt the transactions and alert the police.
Further investigation showed the group had over 30 winning receipts and had already redeemed more than 20 receipts, collecting NT$199,600 between October 6 and October 18. Authorities also questioned a victim, searched six residences, and seized five mobile phones on Monday.
The Penghu police have alerted nationwide law enforcement agencies through the 165 anti-fraud platform to monitor for similar cases. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) Taxation Administration is baffled by how the suspects printed the winning receipt certificates at an iBon kiosk, a method considered almost unprecedented, according to Director-General Lou Mei-chung.
The legitimate winner of one of the NT$10 million receipts had already claimed the prize, confirming the fraudulent attempt. Records also showed that the elder Chang had previously redeemed smaller winning receipts from businesses outside his residence, totaling over NT$190,000. Investigators found no evidence of hacking into the electronic invoice system, as stated by Hsieh Ming-feng, the deputy director-general of the MOF's Fiscal Information Agency.
The MOF assured that the receipt lottery system remains secure, with mechanisms to flag fraudulent claims. Financial institutions are required to adhere to strict verification procedures, and any improperly obtained prize money will be recovered once fraud is confirmed.
