A tempting promise of safe, steady, and high returns from following a "star lecturer" to trade stocks or gold? Behind such alluring investment pitches often lie elaborate fraud schemes meticulously crafted by criminals.
**All a Facade: Fake Trading Platform Swindles 280 Million Yuan**
Shandong police have cracked a cross-border telecom and online fraud case involving a fake "trading platform," with the amount involved exceeding 280 million yuan. Mr. Wang, a resident of Yantai, Shandong, is one of the victims of this cross-border telecom and online fraud. He told reporters that at the end of 2017, a stranger claiming to be an experienced stock investor added him on WeChat and then pulled him into a fan group for stock trading and recommendations. The group owner said that to give back to fans, they would lead everyone to trade gold together.
Mr. Wang stated that this group owner was different from ordinary investment bloggers who only talk about profits. Instead, they packaged themselves as a "star lecturer" with "exquisite stock trading skills, sentiment, and enthusiasm for public welfare," frequently posting pictures of donating materials everywhere to build a persona. Even so-called "old stock investors"晒出盈利截图, this series of烘托造势 gradually drew him deeper in.
Mr. Wang was brainwashed layer by layer by the group owner, completely letting down his guard. Under the other party's remote control, he installed a precious metals trading platform software called "Chuang Lifeng Gold Industry." Unbeknownst to him, this was an investment trap tailored for him by the criminal gang.
Victim Mr. Wang: At first, he said we could make some small profits. Later, at a critical point, he called on us all to prepare sufficient funds, increase the capital amount, and stop after this wave was done.
It was precisely this operation that caused Mr. Wang to lose over 600,000 yuan directly. Initially, the lecturer and assistants in the group安抚 Mr. Wang with reasons like "market volatility, adding positions can recover losses." Mr. Wang himself also thought this was just a normal investment loss caused by severe market fluctuations and planned to wait and see for a while before deciding whether to continue adding positions. However, as the investment software later became impossible to open, the WeChat group suddenly disbanded, and the so-called lecturer and assistants全部失联, he realized he had been scammed.
Victim Mr. Wang: In 2019, when I went to the bank to check the bank statement, I saw that the money did not enter the so-called international gold trading platform but went into private accounts. That's when we woke up, felt deceived, and went to the public security bureau to report the case.
**Comparing Cases Uncovers Clues: Prisoner Comes into View**
Police analyzed the online clues involved in the case and found that Mr. Wang's money had long entered the reserve fund account of a third-party payment company, with daily deposit and withdrawal transactions高达 over 400 times. However, as Mr. Wang reported the case relatively late, the involved social media accounts had long been deactivated, and group chats had already been disbanded, the task force未能提取到 other effective information. It wasn't until 2022 that the investigation of the case迎来转机.
Guo Peng, an officer from the Anti-Fraud Center of the Muping Branch of the Yantai Public Security Bureau: A case cracked by the Hubei Hanchuan Public Security was very similar to the case we were investigating, both involving fraud through the "Chuang Lifeng (Gold Industry)" platform. We also found a customer service manager from the Hong Kong "Chuang Lifeng (Gold Industry)" company who was already serving a prison sentence. In the mobile phone forensics report of the prisoner, we found the WeChat and overseas communication software of the fraud gang organizer. We retrieved the bank card transaction records appearing in the chat logs and conducted big data analysis on the identity information of the main personnel. We discovered a庞大的诈骗团伙.
Through joint case investigation, the task force found that the main perpetrator of this case, Yu Moubo, had already been arrested by Sichuan police in 2019 for another fraud case and was sentenced by the court to fourteen years in prison. Through interrogating Yu Moubo, the task force掌握了 the organizational structure and fraud methods of this诈骗团伙.
This fraud gang had a clear organizational structure and分工明确, divided into five levels: boss, deputy general manager, director, team leader, and salesperson. The boss was responsible for对接 with the fraud platform, the deputy general manager was responsible for人事管理 of the fraud gang, the director was responsible for managing the team leaders假扮的讲师, and the team leaders were responsible for managing the salespersons in the group chats who发话术. Yu Moubo was precisely the boss of this gang. He gathered Xiong Mouqin, Xie Mou, and 11 others to form this fraud gang overseas, targeting Chinese residents for telecom and online fraud.
Guo Peng, officer from the Anti-Fraud Center of the Muping Branch of the Yantai Public Security Bureau: We found that this gang, led by 14 people, would first illegally obtain citizens' personal information online, then use WeChat to add them as friends,筛选出 those with genuine意愿 for stock investment, then recommend them to join stock live streaming rooms for直播、听课, gradually brainwashing these victims. After brainwashing, they gradually引导 these victims to the fake precious metals platform to实施诈骗.
After the victims' invested funds were harvested, they entered the accounts controlled by the "Chuang Lifeng Gold Industry" platform through third-party payment platforms after multiple transfers. Afterwards, the "Chuang Lifeng Gold Industry" platform and Yu Moubo divided the spoils according to the agreed比例.经查, Yu Moubo and others, through such诈骗方式, caused losses exceeding 280 million yuan to 1,789 victims.
**Severe Crimes: Gang Leader Sentenced to Life Imprisonment**
After the second trial by the Shandong Provincial High People's Court, the personnel involved in this case were all punished, with the main perpetrator Yu Moubo sentenced to life imprisonment.
The court held that Yu Moubo organized and directed personnel overseas to实施诈骗犯罪活动,系犯罪集团的首要分子. He had previously committed telecom and online fraud crimes, and while负案在逃, went overseas to组织此类犯罪. Moreover, the诈骗数额特别巨大,罪行严重. Although there were circumstances of主动退缴违法所得 and立功, they were insufficient for a lighter punishment.
Ultimately, the court sentenced Yu Moubo to life imprisonment for the crime of fraud,剥夺政治权利终身, and confiscated all personal property. Xiong Mouqin and others were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from thirteen years to two years for the crime of fraud, along with fines.
It is understood that the查扣在案的 over 73.81 million yuan in财物 will be returned to the victims proportionally.
So, how should one guard against such investment and financial fraud?
When encountering so-called "star lecturer stock recommendations," one can check whether the other party possesses securities investment consulting qualifications through the official website of the Securities Association of China,警惕 "unlicensed stock recommendations." If the other party suddenly demands increasing the investment scale after initial profits, one must remain calm.
Cai Guisheng, Associate Professor at Renmin University of China Law School: In the process of such fraud cases, if you feel unsure,判断力不足, especially when the other party催促你做决定, you can pause,争取拖延一下. As the time周期拉长, your judgment will recover somewhat. At that time, the fraudsters might also feel they have encountered an experienced investor and possibly放弃对你的诈骗行为.
Experts also remind that正规投资 requires operation through bank三方存管 accounts and trading on officially认证的平台. Investors can及时查看 their own资金流向 through bank statements. If suspicious situations arise, such as funds entering personal accounts or third-party payment platforms, they should immediately report to the police to avoid unnecessary losses.
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