Taipei: Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Wednesday announced the discovery of 756 fraud cases on the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, known in English as RedNote, within the first 11 months of 2025.
According to Focus Taiwan, the most prevalent fraud type on the app was fake online auctions, with 283 reported cases, followed by scams related to canceling installment payments (196 cases), fake investments (51), catfishing (43), and sex service scams (23). This data was released by the CIB’s Fraud Prevention Center, highlighting a decrease from last year’s 950 cases on the app.
The scams typically originate on in-app trading platforms, where scammers guide victims to external messaging apps like LINE. The process often involves directing victims to fraudulent customer service sites or accounts, where they are tricked into making “verification” transfers, resulting in financial loss.
In connection with these fraud cases, the CIB reported that 58,882 fraudulent websites have been flagged to the Taiwan Network Information Center for domain name blocking from August 2024 to November 2025. Due to these concerns, the government ordered Taiwan’s internet service providers to block Xiaohongshu for one year starting December 4.
The Fraud Prevention Center addressed skepticism from a police officer’s post on Dcard, asserting that while no Xiaohongshu-related fraud cases had been handled by that officer, the system has recorded such cases. The center emphasized that the absence of personal experience does not negate the existence of these scams.
Furthermore, the center has reported Meta’s failures to the Ministry of Digital Affairs, citing issues like non-disclosure of advertiser information and delayed removal of fraudulent ads, leading to fines totaling NT$18.5 million (US$593,132).
The CIB actively monitors and reports fraudulent impersonations of business and online personas, with over 20,000 cases reported this year. Citizens are encouraged to report such instances through Facebook’s official procedures.