A few days ago, the Criminal Police Central Crime Center announced that it had uncovered a criminal group headed by Zhan Nan who successfully obtained 8,226 different mobile phone numbers and bound 2,642 LINE accounts by changing mobile phone numbers. Preliminary financial losses were estimated to exceed NT$80 million. The District Prosecutor’s Office has recently concluded the prosecution.
How did the fraud group use the vulnerability of phone number replacement to obtain a large number of telecommunications phone numbers? In order to prevent fraud, what is the new number replacement system in 2026? The following is a summary and explanation:
Image source: Dongsen News
1. How did the fraud group exploit the vulnerability of phone number replacement to obtain a large number of phone numbers?
LINE accounts are one of the main channels used by fraud groups to defraud people digitally. Most fraud groups use various channels to search for unknown channels to obtain Line accounts.
From March 2024 to April 2025, a man surnamed Zhan from Taichung City took advantage of the past loophole in that the procedure for changing phone numbers was simple and there was no limit on the number of times as long as he paid a 240 yuan operating fee. In just over a year, 8,226 personal phone numbers were “washed out”, bound to 2,642 LINE accounts, and then resold to fraud groups for use. The profit for each phone number and account was between 200 and 300 yuan, and the initial illegal profit was estimated to be more than 2 million yuan. These accounts were later used to defraud victims into joining LINE fake investment groups, and the amount defrauded amounted to 80 million yuan. The Criminal Bureau closed down the network in three waves in 2025, and brought back 12 people including Zhan Nan. Zhan was detained by the prosecutor and was subsequently investigated and prosecuted for fraud in recent days.
The Criminal Bureau calls on individuals to avoid handing over or leasing their electronic phone numbers or social accounts to others to avoid being used by malicious parties and putting them in jail. If you have any questions, you can call the 165 anti-fraud consultation hotline or go to the nearest police station for inquiries.
2. Old and new specifications for Taiwan Telecom’s phone number change (new phone number):
In the past, Taiwanese people who applied to change their phone number could easily change their phone number as long as they brought two IDs and paid an operating fee of 240 yuan (excluding special numbers). However, due to the incident last year of a fraud group using telecom phone number changing loopholes to commit fraud, the NCC ordered telecom operators to update the regulations for people to change numbers starting from December 30, 2025, requiring people to change numbers. Only if they meet the conditions of “returning to the original number,” “unable to register,” or “there are facts of harassment,” can the number change be accepted. The differences between the old and new systems for telecom phone number replacement in 2026 are as follows:
A. Number change and old system:
The “original phone number holder” needs to bring “dual documents” (ID card + health insurance card/driver’s license) to the physical store of the telecommunications operator for processing. Usually, an operating fee of 240 yuan (special number extra) will be charged, and the old number will become invalid immediately. If there are relatives and friends who need to contact, please make good use of the “pickup service” to report the new number.
b. New number change:
Starting from 2026, in accordance with the NCC fraud prevention policy, it is required to change the number. In addition to the original application at the counter with dual IDs, the application must meet the conditions of “returning to the original number”, “unable to register” or “there are facts of harassment”. The operator will review the rationality, and the number change fee is 240 yuan (special numbers are extra). After changing the number, the original number will be frozen. Before changing the number, please be sure to remove the old phone number information bound to the LINE and other accounts; if repeated number changes or card replacements are detected within 24 hours, the operator will enforce facial recognition or stricter authentication.
Special reminder: After the passage of the new four anti-fraud laws, the penalties for members of fraud groups have increased significantly. Since the masterminds of fraud syndicates are usually cross-border, police inspections can often only catch the riders and the people who provide the payouts. According to the latest sales of house numbers to the fraud syndicate, the people are not only sentenced, but also have to bear civil liability to compensate the victims for the fraud losses. Currently, there have been cases of demanding compensation of 13.97 million yuan (for details, see “This article“). Please don’t be greedy for petty gains, lest you lose your wife and lose your troops!
Source: KOCPC Chinese