HSK5 Reading – The Scam Call

Posted on by tiffany

HSK 5 · Reading Practice

The Scam Call

Vocabulary

HSK 5 盗dào刷shuā Tap to flip

to fraudulently charge (a card)

他tā的de信xìn用yòng卡kǎ在zài国guó外wài被bèi盗dào刷shuā了le三sān万wàn块kuài。。

His credit card was fraudulently charged 30,000 while he was abroad.

HSK 5 冻dòng结jié Tap to flip

to freeze (an account, assets)

公gōng司sī因yīn为wèi欠qiàn税shuì，，银yín行háng账zhàng户hù被bèi法fǎ院yuàn冻dòng结jié了le。。

Because the company owed taxes, its bank account was frozen by the court.

HSK 5 戒jiè心xīn Tap to flip

wariness; guard

那nà只zhī流liú浪làng猫māo对duì陌mò生shēng人rén很hěn有yǒu戒jiè心xīn，，不bú让ràng任rèn何hé人rén靠kào近jìn。。

That stray cat is very wary of strangers and won’t let anyone come near.

HSK 5 松sōng懈xiè Tap to flip

to slack off; to let one’s guard down

考kǎo试shì快kuài到dào了le，，千qiān万wàn不bù能néng松sōng懈xiè。。

The exam is coming soon — you mustn’t slack off now.

HSK 5 不bù疾jí不bù徐xú Tap to flip

unhurried; calm and steady

面miàn对duì记jì者zhě的de问wèn题tí，，她tā不bù疾jí不bù徐xú地de回huí答dá，，显xiǎn得de非fēi常cháng自zì信xìn。。

Facing the reporters’ questions, she answered calmly and steadily, looking very confident.

HSK 5 破pò绽zhàn Tap to flip

flaw; weak point (in a story or argument)

他tā的de说shuō法fǎ前qián后hòu矛máo盾dùn，，警jǐng察chá很hěn快kuài就jiù发fā现xiàn了le破pò绽zhàn。。

His story contradicted itself, and the police quickly spotted the holes in it.

HSK 5 留liú了le个ge心xīn眼yǎn Tap to flip

to stay on one’s guard; to be careful

签qiān合hé同tong前qián，，他tā留liú了le个ge心xīn眼yǎn，，请qǐng律lǜ师shī先xiān看kàn了le一yí遍biàn。。

Before signing the contract, he stayed cautious and had a lawyer read it over first.

HSK 5 盗dào取qǔ Tap to flip

to illegally withdraw (someone’s money)

歹dǎi徒tú用yòng偷tōu来lái的de银yín行háng卡kǎ盗dào取qǔ了le他tā十shí万wàn元yuán。。

The criminal used a stolen bank card to take 100,000 from his account.

HSK 5 合hé情qíng合hé理lǐ Tap to flip

perfectly reasonable

他tā因yīn为wèi生shēng病bìng请qǐng假jià，，这zhè个ge理lǐ由yóu合hé情qíng合hé理lǐ。。

He took leave because he was sick — a perfectly reasonable excuse.

HSK 5 泄xiè露lòu Tap to flip

to leak (information)

这zhè家jiā公gōng司sī的de客kè户hù信xìn息xī泄xiè露lòu，，引yǐn起qǐ了le很hěn大dà的de风fēng波bō。。

The company’s customer data was leaked, causing a big uproar.

HSK 5 识shí破pò Tap to flip

to see through (a trick or lie)

他tā的de谎huǎng话huà很hěn快kuài就jiù被bèi妈mā妈ma识shí破pò了le。。

His lie was quickly seen through by his mom.

HSK 5 防fáng范fàn Tap to flip

to guard against; to prevent

夏xià天tiān到dào了le，，大dà家jiā要yào做zuò好hǎo防fáng范fàn台tái风fēng的de准zhǔn备bèi。。

Summer is here; everyone should be ready to guard against typhoons.

1 / 12

Reading Passage

诈骗电话
The Scam Call

李阿姨接到那通电话时，对方自称是银行客服人员，语气客气而专业，说她的账户被检测出异常交易，怀疑遭到盗刷，需要立即“冻结账户”并转入一笔保证金以“验证身份”，否则存款将有被盗取的风险。李阿姨起初半信半疑，但对方报出的姓名、身份证号后四位，甚至近期的消费记录都准确无误，让她的戒心逐渐松懈。对方语速不疾不徐，遇到她犹豫便耐心解释，丝毫不见一般诈骗电话那种急于催促的破绽。

挂断电话前，李阿姨仍留了个心眼，提出要亲自到银行柜台确认。没想到对方立刻回应：“现在正是诈骗团伙锁定客户的高峰时段，若您亲自前往，恐怕账户会在您抵达前就被盗刷一空，建议您在电话中直接完成验证，才能争取时间。”这番说辞听来合情合理，一时竟让她更加慌张，几乎要按对方指示操作取款机转账。

所幸，她的儿子恰巧来访，听说此事后立刻让她挂断电话，并直接拨打银行官方客服电话核实，才发现银行根本没有这通来电记录，自己确实遇上了诈骗。事后回想，李阿姨坦言，对方之所以能取信于她，并非话术本身有多高明，而是精准抓住了她个人信息泄露后产生的不安，再利用“时间紧迫”这一点，让她来不及冷静核实，便一步步落入陷阱。

这起案例也让警方再次提醒广大群众：诈骗团伙的手法早已不是过去那种粗糙、容易识破的形式，而是结合了泄露的个人信息，营造出高度“可信”的假象；越是声称情况紧急、要求立即处理的来电，越应该提高警惕，亲自通过官方渠道核实，才是防范诈骗最根本的方法。

Lǐ āyí jiēdào nà tōng diànhuà shí, duìfāng zìchēng shì yínháng kèfú rényuán, yǔqì kèqì ér zhuānyè, shuō tā de zhànghù bèi jiǎncè chū yìcháng jiāoyì, huáiyí zāodào dàoshuā, xūyào lìjí “dòngjié zhànghù” bìng zhuǎnrù yì bǐ bǎozhèngjīn yǐ “yànzhèng shēnfèn”, fǒuzé cúnkuǎn jiāng yǒu bèi dàoqǔ de fēngxiǎn. Lǐ āyí qǐchū bàn xìn bàn yí, dàn duìfāng bàochū de xìngmíng, shēnfènzhèng hào hòu sì wèi, shènzhì jìnqí de xiāofèi jìlù dōu zhǔnquè wúwù, ràng tā de jièxīn zhújiàn sōngxiè. Duìfāng yǔsù bù jí bù xú, yùdào tā yóuyù biàn nàixīn jiěshì, sīháo bú jiàn yìbān zhàpiàn diànhuà nà zhǒng jíyú cuīcù de pòzhàn.

Guàduàn diànhuà qián, Lǐ āyí réng liú le ge xīnyǎn, tíchū yào qīnzì dào yínháng guìtái quèrèn. Méi xiǎngdào duìfāng lìkè huíyìng: “Xiànzài zhèng shì zhàpiàn tuánhuǒ suǒdìng kèhù de gāofēng shíduàn, ruò nín qīnzì qiánwǎng, kǒngpà zhànghù huì zài nín dǐdá qián jiù bèi dàoshuā yì kōng, jiànyì nín zài diànhuà zhōng zhíjiē wánchéng yànzhèng, cái néng zhēngqǔ shíjiān.” Zhè fān shuōcí tīng lái hé qíng hé lǐ, yìshí jìng ràng tā gèngjiā huāngzhāng, jīhū yào àn duìfāng zhǐshì cāozuò qǔkuǎnjī zhuǎnzhàng.

Suǒxìng, tā de érzi qiàqiǎo láifǎng, tīngshuō cǐ shì hòu lìkè ràng tā guàduàn diànhuà, bìng zhíjiē bōdǎ yínháng guānfāng kèfú diànhuà héshí, cái fāxiàn yínháng gēnběn méiyǒu zhè tōng láidiàn jìlù, zìjǐ quèshí yùshàng le zhàpiàn. Shìhòu huíxiǎng, Lǐ āyí tǎnyán, duìfāng zhī suǒyǐ néng qǔxìn yú tā, bìngfēi huàshù běnshēn yǒu duō gāomíng, ér shì jīngzhǔn zhuāzhù le tā gèrén xìnxī xièlòu hòu chǎnshēng de bù’ān, zài lìyòng “shíjiān jǐnpò” zhè yì diǎn, ràng tā láibují lěngjìng héshí, biàn yíbùbù luòrù xiànjǐng.

Zhè qǐ ànlì yě ràng jǐngfāng zàicì tíxǐng guǎngdà qúnzhòng: zhàpiàn tuánhuǒ de shǒufǎ zǎo yǐ bú shì guòqù nà zhǒng cūcāo, róngyì shípò de xíngshì, ér shì jiéhé le xièlòu de gèrén xìnxī, yíngzào chū gāodù “kěxìn” de jiǎxiàng; yuè shì shēngchēng qíngkuàng jǐnjí, yāoqiú lìjí chǔlǐ de láidiàn, yuè yīnggāi tígāo jǐngtì, qīnzì tōngguò guānfāng qúdào héshí, cái shì fángfàn zhàpiàn zuì gēnběn de fāngfǎ.

When Auntie Li answered the call, the person on the other end said they were from the bank’s customer service. Their tone was polite and professional. They told her that unusual transactions had been detected on her account and that her card might have been used fraudulently. She needed to “freeze the account” immediately and transfer a deposit to “verify her identity,” or her savings could be stolen. At first Auntie Li was only half convinced, but the caller correctly stated her name, the last four digits of her ID number, and even her recent purchases, so she gradually let her guard down. The caller spoke at a calm, steady pace and patiently explained things whenever she hesitated — with none of the rushing and pressure that usually gives scam calls away.

Before hanging up, Auntie Li still stayed cautious and said she wanted to go to the bank counter in person to check. To her surprise, the caller replied at once: “This is exactly the peak time when scam rings target customers. If you go in person, your account may be emptied before you even get there. We suggest you complete the verification over the phone right now so we don’t lose any time.” This sounded perfectly reasonable, and for a moment it made her even more anxious — she very nearly followed the caller’s instructions to transfer money at an ATM.

Luckily, her son happened to drop by. When he heard what was going on, he immediately told her to hang up and call the bank’s official customer service line directly. Only then did she find out that the bank had no record of the call at all — she really had run into a scam. Looking back, Auntie Li admitted that the caller won her trust not because the script was especially clever, but because they precisely exploited the anxiety she felt after her personal information had been leaked, and then used “time pressure” so that she had no chance to calm down and check, leading her step by step into the trap.

This case also led the police to remind the public once again: scam rings no longer use crude tricks that are easy to see through. Instead, they combine leaked personal data to create a highly “believable” illusion. The more a caller insists that a situation is urgent and must be handled right away, the more alert you should be — checking directly through official channels is the most fundamental way to protect yourself from fraud.

Comprehension Questions

Question 1 of 6

李lǐ阿ā姨yí起qǐ初chū““戒jiè心xīn逐zhú渐jiàn松sōng懈xiè””，，主zhǔ要yào原yuán因yīn是shì什shén么me？？

Paragraph 1 says the caller correctly gave her name, the last four digits of her ID number and even her recent purchases — that is what made her lower her guard. The polite tone helped, but the accurate personal data was the key. A promised refund and her having worked at the bank are never mentioned.

对duì方fāng劝quàn阻zǔ李lǐ阿ā姨yí““亲qīn自zì到dào银yín行háng柜guì台tái确què认rèn””时shí所suǒ用yòng的de说shuō辞cí，，其qí真zhēn正zhèng目mù的dì是shì什shén么me？？

Claims like “this is peak time for scam rings” and “your account may be emptied before you get there” sound reasonable, but their real purpose is to create urgency so she has no chance to calm down and check through official channels. Reading it as a genuine warning about scammers nearby, or as real bank advice, takes the excuse at face value; leaking more data at the bank is never mentioned.

文wén中zhōng提tí到dào““一yì时shí竟jìng让ràng她tā更gèng加jiā慌huāng张zhāng，，几jī乎hū要yào按àn对duì方fāng指zhǐ示shì操cāo作zuò取qǔ款kuǎn机jī转zhuǎn账zhàng””，，这zhè句jù话huà反fǎn映yìng出chū什shén么me？？

This sentence comes right after the caller’s “perfectly reasonable” explanation. It shows that the caution she still had (wanting to check in person) was shaken by the smooth script, and she almost did what she was told. She was not already planning to transfer money, she had not seen through the scam (she nearly fell for it), and how hard ATMs are to use is irrelevant.

李lǐ阿ā姨yí最zuì终zhōng没méi有yǒu受shòu骗piàn，，关guān键jiàn在zài于yú什shén么me？？

Paragraph 3 says her son happened to visit, told her to hang up, and had her call the bank’s official customer service directly — that was the turning point. She did not spot a flaw herself, and the bank calling her or the amount being too large are never mentioned.

李lǐ阿ā姨yí事shì后hòu认rèn为wéi，，对duì方fāng之zhī所suǒ以yǐ能néng取qǔ信xìn于yú她tā，，最zuì主zhǔ要yào的de原yuán因yīn是shì什shén么me？？

Looking back, Auntie Li says it was “not that the script was especially clever” — which rules out the “extremely clever script” option — but that the caller exploited her anxiety about her leaked data and used time pressure so she could not calm down and check. Being unfamiliar with bank procedures or voice-spoofing technology has no support in the text.

这zhè篇piān文wén章zhāng最zuì想xiǎng传chuán达dá的de道dào理lǐ最zuì可kě能néng是shì什shén么me？？

The police warning in the last paragraph is the conclusion: the more urgent a call claims to be, the more alert you should be, and you should check through official channels. “Just accept the risk” is too passive, “stronger bank checks will end fraud completely” goes beyond the text, and “scams are crude and easy to spot” contradicts what the text says.

Did this lesson help you? 🙂

If you enjoyed practicing with this page, consider buying me a coffee — it helps keep new lessons like this one coming.

☕ Buy me a coffee