Kaohsiung police warn of game‑account scam that steals students’ SIM cards

Police in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, have uncovered a fraud scheme that lures teenagers on the short‑video platform Douyin with promises of free premium accounts for the game “Triangular Operation”. Victims are redirected to a counterfeit "Garena official support" LINE account that claims a system verification requires a code and the user’s physical SIM card.

A second impostor then pretends to be a police investigator, threatening arrest if the victim does not hand over the SIM as "evidence". One student complied and mailed the SIM, which the fraud group will use to register illicit LINE accounts, send scam messages or facilitate money‑laundering. The police warn that legitimate game support never asks for a SIM card or personal documents, and law‑enforcement will never contact citizens via LINE.

Authorities issued three safety rules: avoid unknown links offering free game items, never send SIM cards or personal documents, and disregard any police‑related messages sent through social‑media apps. Parents are urged to monitor their children’s online activity, especially during the summer holidays.