With the development and popularization of the Internet, some enterprises, under the banner of scientific and technological innovation, green transformation, rural revitalization and other new concepts, use the universe, NFT, virtual currency, digital collections, online cross-border securities trading, new dating software, product experience officer and other new concepts to fabricate high-tech investment projects with numerous packaging names, openly and falsely publicize high returns, take the opportunity to absorb public funds, carry out illegal fund-raising, fraud and other illegal activities.

Case introduction:

Recently, the People's Court of Futian District, Shenzhen released a case of "digital collectibles" fraud. The court sentenced the defendant to 12 years in prison and a fine of RMB 55000 for the crime of fraud in accordance with the law. The specific circumstances of the case are as follows:

In June 2022, Mr. Chen registered and established Company A. Without the ICP license (network operation license) and other information service records, he developed the B platform to sell a digital collection publicly, and used WeChat official account and other channels to publicize the limited amount of the collection he sold, so that he could invest in the digital collection without loss.

In July 2022, B platform launched a certain digital collectible. Under the promotion of "breakeven repurchase and stable appreciation", many users purchased this digital collectible on platform B. Within a month, nearly 30000 collections were sold to the public.

Afterwards, Chen opened up secondary market trading and artificially increased trading prices, hyped up market heat, and collected funds through account manipulation, hiring sailors, and other means. During this period, Chen cashed out more than 900000 yuan from the platform.

From October to November 2022, Chen stopped server renewal and closed the platform, making it impossible for users to withdraw and view "digital collectibles".

At the end of December 2022, Chen was arrested by the public security organs.

Risk statement

The models and methods of illegal fundraising are constantly transforming and upgrading, and new types of scams are more deceptive and deceptive. Some criminals engage in fraudulent activities due to reasons such as users lacking relevant knowledge about digital collectibles and being eager to invest and make profits. The general public should always be vigilant of various scams disguised as technological innovation and green industries, and constantly increase their vigilance.

How to identify and prevent:

The common methods of illegal fundraising include:

1. Promise high returns.

Illegal fundraisers promise high returns to attract more investors. Initially, they pay off the principal and interest of the early investors on time and in full. Then, they demolish the wall to make up for the wall, and use the money of the later fundraisers to pay off the previous principal and interest. After reaching a certain scale, they transfer funds and abscond with the funds.

2. Use legal clothing or celebrity effects to gain the trust of the public.

Criminals often establish companies and complete procedures such as business licenses and tax registrations to conceal their illegal purposes, without actual business or investment projects. These companies increase their publicity by renting office spaces in luxury office buildings and hiring celebrities for advertising, in order to gain the trust of the public.

3. Utilize the internet to commit crimes and evade attacks through virtual spaces.

Criminals spread false information through instant messaging tools such as QQ and WeChat. Once investigated, they quickly shut down the website and abscond with money under the pretext of not following the rules when offline.