False advertising, falsifying evidence, and using violence to exert pressure! Uncovering the Black Industry Chain Account | Consumer | Advertising Behind the "unconditional full refund" Advertisement

"Professional team guidance, one-on-one follow-up" and "unconditional full refund of any type of insurance"... Recently, some so-called "agent refund" advertisements have frequently appeared online, causing many consumers, especially the elderly, to be deceived. According to an investigation by Xinhua Vision reporters, some illegal elements, under the guise of "acting as agents to cancel insurance," use methods such as defaming insurance products and promising higher returns to induce consumers to maliciously complain or report insurance institutions to cancel insurance, charge high transaction fees, and even embezzle refund funds, gradually forming a black industry chain, seriously disrupting the order of the insurance market and infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

False advertising, falsification of evidence, and pressure through provocation

Surrender is a normal insurance consumption behavior. According to general regulations, during the "hesitation period" of 10 or 15 days after purchasing insurance products, consumers can fully withdraw the insurance; If you cancel the insurance after this period of time, there will be losses. "Proxy surrender" refers to some organizations or individuals illegally profiting under the guise of "being able to help with full surrender". Recently, the People's Court of Lianjiang County, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, sentenced six individuals involved in "proxy surrender" of illegal activities in the black industry to commit the crime of extortion. After investigation, the persons involved in the case set up an information consulting company and released the information of "full surrender" through WeChat, Tiktok and other network platforms to induce the insurance applicant to entrust the company to surrender insurance, compile a complaint letter in the form of fabricating the insurance company's violations, and maliciously complain to the regulatory authorities about the insurance company to defraud money. The reporter found that there are many shops on online platforms labeled with "withdrawal consultation" and "policy negotiation consultation". After leaving messages to the customer service representatives of multiple stores, the reporters all stated that "we will not discuss it in detail here" and requested to make a phone call or add WeChat. During the consultation process, the reporter found that there were many tricks involved: false advertising. "Our company has professional legal staff and lawyers." A staff member from a store said, "Regardless of whether the policy is valid or the premium is unpaid, full refund can be made." The reporter interviewed insurance experts and learned that insurance contracts have clear provisions on refund and other matters, and consumers must fully understand that the so-called "full refund" is a "bait" that attracts consumers to take advantage of—— Forgery of evidence. A certain "proxy withdrawal" black industry staff member requested the journalist to hand over their ID card, bank card, insurance contract, etc., so that they could use the journalist's own identity to withdraw the insurance. When reporters expressed concerns about insufficient reasons for withdrawing insurance, several black industry workers who acted as agents for withdrawing insurance stated that they could directly "fabricate" evidence; It is also possible to guide the defendant or insurance company salesperson to make unfavorable statements by designing "traps" and other forms. Such as concealing insurance liability, exaggerating profits, and using recordings, screenshots, and other methods to obtain evidence—— Apply pressure by causing trouble. Agents of insurance withdrawals may repeatedly file complaints and reports through phone calls, letters, and other means, or instruct consumers to use methods such as "harassing and harassing" to pressure insurance companies and regulatory authorities to force insurance companies to withdraw, and demand a fee of more than 30% of the withdrawal amount as an agency fee. Industry insiders say that some consumers lack financial knowledge and are worried that the process of canceling insurance will be cumbersome. At the same time, they hope to get more money back. When the black industry staff of "agent canceling insurance" claim to be "easy to cancel" and can "fully cancel insurance," consumers are easily encouraged.

Fraudsters face risks such as loss of insurance coverage, financial loss, and personal information leakage

The investigation by reporters found that policyholders who trust "agent withdrawal" criminals will face risks such as loss of insurance protection, financial loss, and personal information leakage. Liu Shujie, assistant to the general manager of Dajia Life Insurance, said that the majority of people who are encouraged to withdraw insurance are elderly people, involving health related insurance types such as critical illness insurance and life insurance. After elderly people withdraw their insurance, they may not be able to receive compensation in case of unexpected situations, which may result in significant property damage. Moreover, when reapplying in the future, there is a risk of premium increase or even rejection due to changes in age and health status. There are also consumers who have been tempted by criminals and have suffered great losses by taking small advantages. "They said my policy could be fully refunded, and they also introduced me to a higher yield insurance, but they had to pay a 500 yuan 'deposit'. I thought it would be more cost-effective than returning it myself and buying high-yield products, so I cooperated with them to go to the insurance company to cause trouble. In the end, they refunded more than 20000 yuan, but the money was quickly transferred by them, and my WeChat and phone numbers were blocked." 64 year old Ms. Liu told reporters. In addition, the head of the relevant department of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration said that "agency surrender" mafia organizations and individuals often use the consumer's ID number, mobile phone number, financial account, etc. to carry out illegal acts, and consumers face the risk of bank card theft or even counterfeit loans. Consumer Mr. Jia reported that he met an illegal individual claiming to be an "insurance consultant" online and promised to help with a full refund. He uses Mr. Jia's information and operates the policy loan on his phone. After the loan was received, the criminals claimed that the funds were the first refund of the insurance deposit. Mr. Jia believed it to be true and paid the cancellation service fee. But after paying the fees, the "insurance consultant" can no longer be contacted. Mr. Jia not only did not receive the refund, but also had to repay the policy loan. Shortly thereafter, he continued to receive repayment notices from multiple lending institutions. The China Insurance Industry Association reminds that in order to achieve their goals, criminals who instigate, instigate, and induce consumers to forge evidence, provide false information, and make complaints, reports, or false accusations may lead consumers to face significant legal risks of being sued.

Intensify prevention and crackdown efforts

"Normal collection, nationwide search for partners, recruitment of agents"... The reporter found that in order to evade the crackdown of relevant departments, some illegal activities of "agent withdrawal" of black industries are more covert. Criminals have extensively developed offline agents to lure consumers into being deceived under the guise of so-called "policy protection briefing sessions" and "professional training sessions". It is reported that relevant departments have increased their efforts to crack down on "proxy surrender" black industries. The financial regulatory authorities have issued multiple documents to remind of risks and deployed regular work, and have launched heavy attacks in multiple areas to crack down on chaos. The financial management department of Shenzhen, together with the public security criminal investigation, economic investigation, market supervision and other departments, will jointly carry out special actions and regularly discuss the breakthrough points of criminal crackdowns on financial black industries such as "proxy surrender"; The Shanghai Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, in conjunction with the Shanghai Higher People's Court and other departments, has established a joint crackdown mechanism to deeply explore the criminal behavior of "proxy surrender" in the black industry; Public security organs in Jiangxi, Anhui, Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, and other regions have publicly solicited clues on illegal and criminal activities related to "proxy surrender" of black industries. In addition, insurance industry associations in multiple regions have organized member units to sign self-discipline conventions, strengthening self-discipline and restraint in complaint reporting, information security protection, case information sharing, and other aspects, jointly responding to and cracking down on "proxy surrender" of black industries. "The frequent occurrence of 'proxy surrender' chaos is also related to some non compliant behaviors and inadequate services of individual insurance practitioners during the business development process. The relevant person in charge of Ping An Life Insurance Beijing Branch said that it is necessary to enhance compliance management awareness, strengthen management of sales personnel, sales behavior, and policy quality, strengthen risk warning, and ensure that the insurance products sold match the actual needs of policyholders.". Smooth channels for complaints and rights protection, and promptly address customer demands. The heads of relevant departments of the State Administration for Financial Supervision and Administration remind consumers that if they have doubts about insurance products or services, they should make reasonable demands through formal channels: they can directly negotiate with insurance institutions to resolve the issue. If consultation fails, they can resolve it through industry dispute mediation organizations, or report it to financial regulatory authorities. They can also file a lawsuit with the people's court.