Chinese Americans in New York City warned of phone scams

NEW YORK, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A major Chinese American organization in New York City has issued a phone scams warning to local Chinese communities.

"Be fully alert and trust no phone request regarding credit card account or bank transfer in the name of the Chinese Consulate General in New York, " said Liang Guanjun and Chen Qingquan, co-presidents of the United Chinese Association of Eastern U.S. Inc. at a news briefing Sunday afternoon.

The calls fraudulently appear on caller ID as coming from the "Chinese Consulate," and have Chinese speaking impersonators demanding payment to the "consulate" to resolve one of many phony incidents, they said.

The New York metropolitan area is home to the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia. As of 2015, the Chinese population in the city is estimated around 800,000. Enditem