Taiwan agricultural and fisheries groups prevent over 250 fraud cases in 2024

​TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Agriculture said Wednesday that Taiwan's farmers' and fishermen's associations helped prevent 255 fraud cases last year.

According to the ministry, 117 associations reported fraud attempts last year, successfully preventing losses totaling around NT$182 million (US$5.6 million).

The ministry said that 40 farmers' associations each prevented fraud cases involving more than NT$1 million. Among them, the Bali Farmers' Association topped the list with NT$24.38 million in prevented losses, followed by the Banqiao Farmers' Association with NT$18.17 million and the Taichung Area Farmers' Association with NT$14.78 million.

New Taipei led all cities in the total amount of prevented losses and reported cases at NT$61.12 million and 46 cases. The Zhonghe Farmers' Association reported the highest number of fraud cases last year, with 12. The largest single case involved NT$15 million, blocked by the Bali Farmers' Association.

Taiwan has 302 farmers' associations and 40 fishermen's associations. Those that reported fraud cases accounted for 34% of the total, the ministry said.

Most of the cases involved fake investment schemes, the ministry said. In several cases, victims attempted to take out large loans from farmers' associations to fund these investments.

The ministry added that it collaborated with the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance to produce a video on preventing AI-driven deepfake scams. The video aims to help the public recognize how fraudsters may use AI to fabricate voices or images for fraudulent purposes.

Chunghwa Post Co. said it stopped 510 fraud cases totaling NT$230 million between January and March, showing a 50% increase compared to the same period last year. The company added that common scams included fake investment schemes, online shopping fraud, scammers posing as buyers to deceive sellers, and romance scams.