Blogger exposed "street mask scam" The familiar routine is here again

The store said that it was using a lottery to attract traffic, and the store is now temporarily closed, and the regulatory authorities are further verifying

Recently, a blogger posted a video on the Internet "exposing the street mask scam". In the video, someone at the subway entrance of the Second Hospital of Chengdu asked the blogger to first "get a tablet", and then took the blogger to another store to apply and sign a contract with his ID card on the grounds of redeeming the prize.

This kind of behavior similar to the "mall jade lottery" made netizens call it "not simple", and some netizens even wondered whether the merchant was using the blogger's identity information for online loans or other illegal acts. Later, the merchant said in an interview with the market supervision department that the QR code lottery was only a way to "push and divert traffic", and there were no other illegal acts.

In further interviews, the reporter found that there were many complaints about the store on the Internet, and the "routines" encountered by consumers were similar. The business is now temporarily suspended. On April 4, the reporter learned from the local market supervision institute that the matter is currently being verified.

The blogger broke the news:

Street "send masks" routine

On April 4, blogger @Agent Yuge posted a video titled "Exposing Street Mask Scams, Scammers' Acting Skills Beat Traffic Stars" on the Bilibili platform, which attracted the attention of netizens, and many netizens said after watching the video that "they have encountered".

The reporter saw that this 8-minute video recorded the whole process of the blogger from receiving the mask presented to entering the communication store to prepare for the contract. Initially, the staff wearing badges first gave the blogger a mask to help him vote, and then told the blogger that he had won a tablet after the blogger operated his mobile phone.

Then the blogger took the staff's electric bicycle, but it took only 1 minute to come to the prize point on the first floor of Red Star International. After handing over with the network personnel, the person who presented the mask left, and the on-site staff verified the blogger's winning information, saying that the prize should be verified by the real-name system, fill in the application form, and handle it with the ID card, and the mobile phone cannot be changed within two years, and after spending 6988 yuan in phone bills, the contract will be automatically terminated, and you need to apply for processing before you can receive a tablet.

After the blogger expressed doubts, the clerk said that this is a kind of operator contract machine mode, and finally because of the real-name registration, in order not to expose his identity information, the blogger chose to leave.

Journalist visits:

Stores that sell appliances rarely see home appliances

At about 4 a.m. on April 11, the reporter came to the subway entrance of the Second City Hospital. At this time, several people wearing badges and holding masks were waiting at the entrance and exit, and they presented masks to people who came and went, but the reporter saw that not many people stopped to interface the cover. The agency in the video is less than 10 meters from the subway entrance, and the staff members ride battery cars back and forth between the store and the subway entrance.

The reporter saw that although the store is called "digital home appliances", the items displayed in the store include tea, data cables, electric toothbrushes, charging treasures, etc., and there are watches in the mobile phone display case, and the number of digital home appliances is very small. The store only sells a mobile phone, the price is more than 1000,<> yuan, after the reporter sent out the question of "why there are no home appliances in the home appliance store", the clerk said that they were selling a full set of home appliances, and then took out a product manual, the price of home appliances in the manual is much more expensive than online. The clerk said that if you want to buy, you need to register as a member with your mobile phone.

Latest developments:

Stores are temporarily closed

Further verification is being carried out by regulators

So, what exactly is this store? On April 4, the reporter reported the matter to the Market Supervision Office of Shuyuan Street, Jinjiang District, and at noon of the same day, the supervision office interviewed the store manager.

According to the store manager, this is similar to the "contract machine" model, during the contract period users cannot carry the number to the Internet, "For example, if your monthly package fee is 200 yuan, you will deduct 200 directly from Alipay/Huabei, until (cumulatively) deducted 6988 yuan after the contract is terminated." The use of ID cards is to sign a contract, "because you have to deduct money from Alipay", and customers can leave on their own if they do not want to apply for it.

It said that they only used the way of sending masks and lottery to push and drain traffic, and there was no "online loan" behavior as claimed on the Internet. The model, which began two months ago, was suspended after being interviewed. As for how to make money from free tablet delivery, it said that the operator will refund the corresponding amount to the store from the user's monthly consumption bill.

After the interview, the reporter noticed that the store involved had quietly closed down, and a note saying "have something to rest" was posted at the door. In this regard, the reporter contacted Mr. Xie, the person in charge of the store, who said that after the incident, the store operation was damaged, and some employees left, so he decided to suspend business for a few days.

On April 4, the reporter learned from the local market supervision institute that the matter is currently being further verified, and the merchant has been asked to no longer carry out the "lottery push", the store has been temporarily closed for adjustment, and the department handling the business license has requested that the company must not cancel the change, and the merchant is willing to cooperate with the refund for the complaining consumers.

More than one:

Many people exposed that they had been "routined"

According to Mr. Xie, the person in charge of the store, the store's rent plus employees' salaries cost nearly 7,<> yuan a month. With such a high cost of opening a store, what does the store rely on to make a profit? He said that the profit model is very simple, one is the operator "rebate", the other is the difference in the price of the product. After attracting customers to the store, in order to claim the prize, you must choose to apply for a "contract machine" or recharge points to the mall.

As for whether the products on the mall are genuine, Mr. Xie said that they have signed a contract with the manufacturer. In further interviews, the reporter found that many consumers had previously posted on the online complaint platform that they had encountered the store's routine scam, and consumers should have taken out payment records and confirmation letters. In August last year, consumers were taken to the store to receive a prize after winning a tablet, and were asked to sign a "contract machine" on the spot, after signing, they were required that consumers' mobile phones "must have a signal, must always have data, otherwise even if the contract is broken", they will be pulled into the blacklist.

What the lawyer said:

Consumer fraud

Undermine consumers' right to know and fair dealing

In this regard, Lin Xiaoming, a partner at Sichuan Yishang Law Firm, believes that the merchant's behavior is a kind of consumer fraud, with specific acts of fabricating facts to conceal the truth. If consumers are lured into spending on the grounds of winning the lottery without clearly informing the specific content and reaching the corresponding criminal registration amount, the merchant's behavior may violate the crime of fraud. If the merchant's behavior is not enough to be a crime, it does not need to be investigated for criminal liability, but it also violates at least the Consumer Rights Protection Law and damages consumers' right to know and fair trade.

Wang Rengen, a lawyer at Sichuan Fenxuan Law Firm, said that similar phenomena such as sending masks to promote products and even realize other attempts have occurred in many places, and there have been many complaints on the Internet. Serious cases may be suspected of criminal fraud, and minor ones also violate laws and regulations such as the Consumer Rights Protection Law. Public security, market supervision and other government departments shall jointly conduct investigations and promptly ban and punish their illegal conduct.

Chengdu Business Daily - Red Star News reporter Zhang Ling