90 'financial experts' nabbed as city police bust 13 gangs
Online investment courses and "experts" who recommend high-yielding stocks may be new consumption temptations, Shanghai police said on Wednesday, World Consumer Rights Day.
More than 90 members belonging to 13 criminal gangs were caught by local police recently as they pretended to be qualified financial experts, providing securities and financial consultation via new media platforms.
The price of the courses sold varied from 499 yuan (US$72.41) to a whopping 98,000 yuan.
The gangs first posted videos or did livestreaming on popular social media platforms to attract potential customers. They then lured people keen to invest to register with apps operated by gang members. Later, they sold consulting services and courses on stock recommendations.
Following the gangsters' arrests, the case has been sent to prosecutors for further investigation.
A police officer tracks criminal gangs online
Since the beginning of the year, Shanghai police has cracked around 280 cases related to infringement of consumers' rights over health and property, involving 1.1 billion yuan.
Apart from masquerading as financial experts, police also found some suspects using trendy concepts, such as metaverse, blockchain as well as digital money, to lure consumers to pay for joining relevant communities.
Also, some trapped senior citizens in the name of elderly-care services and investing in elderly-care beds.
Yangpu District police, meanwhile, apprehended a gang of six members recently for producing and selling counterfeit famous brand shoes for the elderly.
Police officers busted a gang which produced and sold counterfeit shoes of famous brands.
