In April 2018, a Taobao shop owner reported to police in the city of Tongling that they were dupped about 40,000 yuan (or 5,674 U.S. dollars) on the pretext to assist in promoting the store.

However, after two months of investigation, police discovered that a Xiamen-based network technology company, which was established in 2014 and had set up eight branches in cities, and seducing online store owners to spend money on promotion channels.

Such as placing advertisements and becoming franchises on its two fake platforms. In July 2018, police conducted an operation and arrested 76 suspects, including the prime culprit.

According to the police, the case involved over 8,000 victims and an estimated 40 million yuan. All the suspects had so far been prosecuted