My younger brother was deceived into going to the electronic fraud park to save him. My older brother "applied" to go to Laozhang, Myanmar | Journalist | Park
The faster you want to go out, the better.
In Baidu Tieba's "Go Abroad" forum, there are posts full of "job seeking" posts. Some people claim to be in debt due to gambling and other reasons in China, while others admit that they have been in prison and cannot find a job. Behind all these arguments, they all point to the same demand - to go abroad and seek gold in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and other places.
▲ Screenshot of Baidu Tieba's "Go Abroad Bar"
Under these job seeking posts, recruiters are also active. But most of them are vague and high paying jobs, with some hiring people to "carry goods", that is, to smuggle goods along the border; Some people claim to be legitimate companies in Myanmar, Dubai, and other places, recruiting people to carry out overseas "credit card" business.
Actually, this is a hunting ground. Hunters are agents of electronic fraud companies, while the prey that comes to their doorstep is a gold digger with a dream of becoming rich. When the gold miners went to the border of Yunnan, Guangxi and other provinces as promised, what awaited them was not a rich income and a bright future, but a dilemma of being taken into the electronic fraud park by the snake head, and then their life and death were uncertain.
Public security officer Lao Zhang, who has been engaged in anti espionage and overseas persuasion and rescue for a long time, admitted to Red Star News reporters that "going abroad" is just the tip of the iceberg in the espionage chain of espionage companies, with snake heads, hunters, agents... and more fraudsters lurking on various social media platforms.
Script, bait, trap
In August, Red Star News reporters entered Baidu's "Go Abroad Bar" to try to establish contact with agents and snake heads. After publishing a message stating that they hoped to go abroad, many people quickly left messages under the post, requesting the reporter to have a private chat with them.
After the Red Star News reporter added their social account, a suspected agent claimed that they were doing business in Xishuangbanna and needed to find someone to "carry a watch". They would pay half of the fee for picking up goods outside and another half after bringing the goods back to China. "Usually, it's around 10.". The reporter asked the other party if they needed to pay a deposit, but they said they didn't need it. "Someone took you with them throughout the process," and they also said that one suitcase of their goods was worth 2 million yuan. "The money we gave you was just a small issue.".
▲ Suspected agent sent "goods" to reporters
The reporter pretended to have the intention to go and consulted for more details. The other party said there were no threshold restrictions for recruitment, "as long as you are an adult," and said that the "smuggling route" is very safe, and it only takes about four days to go. The reporter then falsely claimed that there were two other people who could go together. The other party immediately stated that they could pay an introduction fee of "5000 per person" and urged the reporter to send him the ticket purchase records, identity information, etc.
Another "recruiter" requested the journalist to have a voice call with him, stating that his company's business is "going abroad, credit card", "doing business for foreign customers, ensuring safety, and returning home is also okay.". The reporter stated that he does not know foreign languages, and the other party replied that he does not need to do business. He first goes to the team to "do human resources work" and promises a high salary, "a basic salary of 8000, hiring one person for 10000, if you hire one person per month, it will be 18000 in one month.".
These suspected agents active in Tieba have each packaged themselves and their affiliated companies in a formal manner. Some claim to ensure personal safety and directly sign contracts with the Myanmar government, while others claim to be able to smoothly exit the country through their special channels, regardless of whether they have a passport or not.
It is worth noting that in this forum, in addition to the "recruitment" of suspected agents, there are also a large number of "job seekers" who hope to be taken abroad to make a fortune. Among them, there are some people who are aware of the risks of the electronic fraud park and still crave to go abroad to earn money with a mentality of luck or utilitarianism, while there are also some so-called "tuanzi" - those who falsely claim to go abroad and extract travel expenses from agents.
Regarding the chaos in this post bar, police officer Lao Zhang said that in recent years, the vast majority of people who have been trapped in the electronic fraud park have voluntarily gone there and come back to claim to have been deceived. According to Lao Zhang, "going abroad" is only the tip of the iceberg in the smuggling chain of the wire fraud company. "These fraudsters are lurking in the platforms such as Xiaohongshu, 58 Local, Tiktok and Momo."
Half a month ago, Tang, who fled back to China from Myanmar, told Red Star News reporters that in addition to various social media platforms, cyberfraudsters also like to use encrypted instant messaging apps such as "Bat", "Paper Plane", and "Everything Must Be Arrived". He said that these apps contain many information about campus recruitment, bounties, and wanted fugitives, some of which are foreign apps.
It is understood that the "paper airplane" has a function of burning after reading, which can destroy chat traces, making it difficult to retain relevant information as evidence. The "Bat" software has a smaller audience, but it is also an important channel for scammers to win over "job seekers". The software does not store data in the cloud, and chatting requires both parties to use agreed password codes. During the chat process, the user's profile picture and nickname are coded, and it has anti screenshot and anti screen recording functions, which can also achieve the effect of difficult to retain evidence.
From June 2023 to present, only Red Star News reporters have received three cases of electronic fraud related to the application software, all of which involve agents contacting domestic personnel through the "Bat" software and then guiding them out of the country.
"Overseas gold rush"
Qin's younger brother Qin Jia met an agent on "Bat".
Around June 20th, Qin saw his younger brother post a friend's circle about tickets from his hometown of Guilin to Kunming. He didn't take it seriously and thought his brother had changed jobs or gone on a trip. At around 10pm on June 26th, my younger brother sent a message to Qin, claiming that he had been sold to Guogan Old Street in Myanmar.
▲ Chat records between Qin and his younger brother
According to Qin Moujia, the agent he met on "Bat" told him that there was a business in ash production at the Yunnan border and asked him to help "pick up people". Every time he picked up someone, he would receive a generous reward. According to the chat records between Qin Moujia and him, on the evening of June 24th, under the guidance of the agent, Qin Moujia arrived in Kunming and then arranged a transfer at the local snake head to Dali. After resting, he changed his route to Baoshan City, Yunnan Province. Under the armed coercion of two snake heads, he illegally crossed the border by mountain road for 9 hours.
Wang, who lives in Shanwei, also encountered a "wealth making business" on "Bat". Wang's wife recalled that at the end of July, Wang suddenly said he wanted to go find a fellow villager he met in "Bat". The villager was doing jade and stone business on the China Myanmar border, helping him "carry goods" and earning 10000 yuan per trip. "At that point, he gave 5000 yuan, and after carrying it, he gave 5000 yuan.". Like Qin Moujia, after arriving at the agreed location, Wang Moumou was taken overseas by Snake Head and subsequently fell into an electronic fraud park.
▲ Chat records between Wang and his wife
On this grey production chain woven by agents and snake heads, "carrying goods" and "picking up people" are both routine tactics. Previously, Red Star News reported that two teenagers from Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, who were invited by their fellow villagers to smuggle famous watches at the border, were directly taken into the electronic fraud park by snake heads.
In the multiple cases of fraudsters reported by Red Star News, almost all of them can find some similarities - rural families, urban lower class backgrounds, and lack of good education. An expert who has been engaged in long-term research on electronic fraud control in the public security system told Red Star News reporters that these high-risk groups that are prone to fraud can be summarized as the "three low" groups - young age, low education, and low income. Faced with temptation, slipping almost becomes a certain inevitability.
Li, from Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, was supposed to finish high school this year before considering whether to enter society, but his father's serious illness affected the young man's life trajectory. In 2021, Li's father was diagnosed with uremia. During the two years he sought medical treatment, he spent all his savings at home. In early 2023, his condition worsened and he urgently needed further treatment. Li did not discuss with his family and dropped out of school and went to Zhejiang to work.
On May 30th, Li's father reported to the police station
Before going to Zhejiang, through short videos, he saw many "wealthy people" living a glamorous life and also had dreams of getting rich. But the reality is that in the first two months of working, apart from the heavy labor in the factory, Li's salary was just enough to cover his expenses. He complained to his sister, "I can't make any money," and she advised him to go home and continue his studies.
Unable to get a satisfactory answer from his sister, Li turned to the wealthy "big brother" he met in the short video for help. He sent a private message asking the other party, how did they earn so much money? The other party invited him to the border to do "pick-up" business together, so Li fell into the quagmire of telegraphic fraud.
Similar stories occur in the families of many fraudsters.
Wang from Nayong County, Guizhou Province is a typical case, where her two sons were successively trapped in an electronic fraud park. After Yang, the eldest son, was taken away by an agent he met online on the grounds of "going to Myanmar to do business", Liu, the youngest son, took the initiative to find a snake head through the internet and was scammed away by the other party for "helping to save your brother.".
▲ Wang underwent an examination at the First People's Hospital of Bijie City
Wang attributed the experiences of her two sons to her own "incompetence" - in 2022, she suffered a left scapula fracture and elbow fracture after an accidental fall. However, due to not receiving timely treatment, she suffered ischemic necrosis of the elbow and caused bone cysts, urgently requiring surgery, otherwise she would face the risk of amputation. The eldest son is eager to make money just to help her save up for surgery expenses.
From "piglets" to agents
In March 2022, Liu, who claimed to be a fruit merchant from Myanmar, met Yang online and learned that his mother urgently needed surgical expenses. The other party suggested that Yang follow him, but Yang initially did not agree.
In May of that year, Yang went to Beijing to work and was injured by a screw that popped out while working. He suffered a rib fracture and was bedridden for a month. After recovering from his injury, he returned home to attend a relative's funeral and planned to look for a job later. However, due to the pandemic, he was unable to make the trip. In July, Liu once again sent an invitation to Yang, and this time, he was moved.
On July 25, 2022, Yang told his mother Wang that he planned to go fishing in Zhejiang, but then embarked on a journey to the border and entered Myanmar through an acquaintance introduced by Liu. On July 28th, Wang received a phone call from his son in Myanmar, in which he said that his friend had been doing fruit business in Myanmar for several years, so the family didn't have to worry. Wang later found out that by then, Yang had already been sold into the electronic fraud park.
Public security officer Lao Zhang told Red Star News reporters that there are three links in the illegal smuggling gray industry chain derived from the electric fraud park: the park company, the agent, and the snake head. The company releases "employment requirements" to the agent, who searches for suitable "heads" online and hands them over to the snake head. The snake head takes the "heads" out of the country and sends them to the park to defraud the company, becoming a "piglet" in their eyes. In Yang's case, Liu, who lured him to the border with a high salary, was the agent, while the "acquaintance" who led him out of the border was the snake head.
According to Lao Zhang, many agents have developed from "piglets". "After some illegal immigrants go to the park to scam companies, the boss of the scam company gives them money to act as agents, including the cost of finding someone to illegally cross the border. The people who deceive them will receive a commission of 17% to 20% for their performance, and the agents will also receive a commission of 5% to 10% for them.".
Ironically, many of these agents have gained the trust of the cyberfraud gang due to their outstanding performance, and are able to travel freely to and from the border with certificates and licenses, constantly deceiving others into going to the cyberfraud park. In Lao Zhang's words, this group of people "live very carefree", and it is difficult for the public security organs to obtain accurate evidence of their involvement in fraud. In China, these people are often packaged as warm-hearted successful individuals, looking for people like Yang who are in trouble. "How do you know if he is really a good person, a bad person, or a wolf in sheep's clothing?"
Some of the snake heads come from border residents on the border, composed of locals familiar with the local terrain, checkpoints, and sentries, and are independent third-party teams outside of the fraud company. In recent days, the police force where Lao Zhang is located has captured a snake head from Puwen Town in Xishuangbanna. Through interrogation, Lao Zhang was surprised by the other party's understanding of the border situation. "From Kunming to Xishuangbanna, they will take a small path that only locals know, and can completely bypass the inspection stations along the way. There are at least 5 checkpoints along the way to the border, and these people rely on winding mountain roads to get out.".
On October 10, 2022, Wang went to the Juren Police Station of Nayong County Public Security Bureau to report to the police
Upon learning that his eldest son was taken to the electronic fraud park, Wang immediately reported to the police. Half a month later, my youngest son Liu also learned the truth. Wang told his younger son, "I will find a way to deal with your brother's situation. You should go to work well. No matter who deceives you into going abroad, don't go. Your brother's current situation has already cost me half my life. If you don't listen to me anymore, I won't be able to live.".
Liu verbally agreed to his mother, stating that he would not follow in the footsteps of his brother. During the 2023 Spring Festival, Wang asked Liu to come home for a reunion, and Liu said he wanted to earn overtime pay. Looking back now, Liu had already shown something was wrong at that time, "I couldn't contact him for ten days and a half months.". Until April 15, 2023, Liu finally confessed - he found a snake head on the internet, and the other party said they could help Liu find his brother in Myanmar, and he believed it.
The chat records provided by Wang and Liu show that Liu seems to have a strong belief in the promises made by Snake Head to him. He repeatedly asks his mother not to tell the public security department about his situation, and also claims that he and his local "friends" are trying to find ways to "find connections" to rescue his brother. If his mother wants to pay for the redemption, he doesn't need to worry about him and takes his brother Yang home first.
Two sons are trapped in an electronic fraud park, and Wang said he feels like the sky is falling. Due to his lack of performance, his eldest son Yang was often beaten up in the electronic fraud park. Electric batons and hanging cigarettes were common occurrences, and people in the park even tried to torture him in various ways, using a lighter to ignite Yang's palm. "Both palms were soaked, and he was punished with squats. He said he couldn't even walk for a week.". Although heartbroken, Yang could at least occasionally contact Wang to let her know about the situation, while Liu contacted his family once on May 1, 2023, but there was no news at all.
Faced with jurisdictional difficulties
In the help group for the families of North Myanmar telecom fraud victims, the reporter contacted some of their families, some of whom claimed to have reported the relevant clues about the snake head to the police. In this regard, the experts engaged in the study of electronic fraud governance mentioned above told Red Star News that there are blind spots in the current judicial practice of who will govern the snake head.
Red Star News reporters have learned from the frontline of border inspection in a certain province that in the analysis and disposal of relevant information against Shetou, there was no actual evidence of population smuggling. Before the occurrence of such behavior, only the suspected traces of agents and Shetou's activities were known, and the location of the illegal immigration behavior could not be determined. In this case, the public security department was also unable to determine jurisdiction, making it "difficult to accept". Even if the family proves that illegal immigration has occurred, the public security organs and immigration management departments need to confirm jurisdiction based on the intelligence and clues provided by the family before deciding which party should be responsible for the case.
The expert stated that in response to the issue of snake heads, the current law enforcement authority is at the border inspection stations under the border inspection and immigration bureau, and the corresponding governance mainly relies on physical control. "That is to say, it is controlled in the actual border inspection process, and it is unlikely to actively obtain this information from the internet.". After collecting and obtaining relevant information online, the public faces difficulties in jurisdiction and other aspects when submitting it to local public security departments. Border inspection stations have their own fixed jurisdictions, while local public security departments do not have jurisdiction and law enforcement authority over such cases. "This area may actually be a relatively empty space in terms of law and law enforcement.".
According to the expert's understanding, in the past, border inspection departments only had administrative law enforcement powers and were unable to carry out tasks against snake heads. This situation has changed since the second half of this year, and some border inspection departments have started to participate in criminal crackdowns and gradually acquire corresponding law enforcement powers. However, this change has only just begun. Objectively speaking, both local public security departments and border inspection departments face many difficulties in carrying out targeted crackdowns on snake heads, including manpower, case handling funds, and case pressure.
Red Star News reporters noticed that on May 31, 2023, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security issued a notice on the issuance of reward measures for reporting illegal and criminal behaviors that violate exit and entry management. In the "Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security's reward measures for reporting illegal and criminal behaviors that violate exit and entry management," Article 5 and Article 6 respectively provide relevant reward provisions for reporting activities that organize others to illegally cross the border or transport others to illegally cross the border.
Regarding the jurisdictional issue of snake head management, Public Security Officer Lao Zhang stated that the public security department, especially frontline police officers, is facing enormous pressure. "Faced with a large number of people across the country who actively engage in illegal immigration and electricity fraud, almost all of them have gone to Yunnan." - Yunnan's land border line is 4061 kilometers long, and according to one person guarding one kilometer, the entire border line needs to be blocked at all times, requiring at least tens of thousands of specialized personnel from public security officers to invest.
How to deal with these fraudsters from the source? The aforementioned experts believe that in addition to guarding the country's borders and increasing publicity against telecommunications fraud, the more crucial point is to target people who are prone to fraud.
"What's the solution?"
Qin's younger brother Qin Jia told him a few days ago that his overseas market was nearing completion, and he didn't know if it would be resold in the future. For his younger brother's experience, apart from reporting to the police, the only thing Qin can do is to stay strong every night and wait for his brother to call back around 3am. Even if it's just a few words of comfort, Qin doesn't feel so down and out.
Qin Moujia is in his early twenties this year. A few years ago, he had a child with his girlfriend who was unmarried and left to be taken care of by his parents in his hometown. Qin said that he and his wife have no other abilities and can only do their best to take care of their younger brother's children. As for the "younger siblings" who rarely appeared, they hardly contacted them after their younger brother had an accident.
Wang's wife, on the other hand, is running around, inquiring about the channels for the redemption person to return to their home country from various sources of consultation and intermediaries. She once briefly contacted the snake head who took Wang out of the country through his WeChat account, but the other party quickly blacklisted her.
Li's family has found someone who claims to have a way out, and the other party said they have talked to a fraud company. The company requires 380000 yuan before they are willing to release the person. For their family, this is undoubtedly an astronomical figure.
Wang still doesn't know when she will be able to see her two sons. She changed the ringtone of her WeChat voice call to "Looking Forward to My Son's Return". In the help group for families involved in electronic fraud, whenever a reporter appears, she will actively tell her story again and again.
On July 30th, Yang, who had been out of touch for a long time, finally called his mother Wang. On the other end of the phone, Yang said that he was discovered by the park due to contact outside and was called again. Yang cried to Wang, saying that he couldn't hold on anymore and wanted to commit suicide. Wang scolded his son, "No matter what, you must hold on to me. You are my hope for survival, and I am your hope for survival. I have never stopped and have been trying to find a way.".
But when facing the reporter, the tension she struggled to muster gradually dissipated in her choked narration. Many times, it was unclear whether she was asking the reporter or herself. Wang repeatedly threw the same question, "What's the solution?"
On August 17th, Red Star News reporters inquired about the situation from the local police station where the above-mentioned family members reported the case, and the other party stated that they were promoting the progress of the relevant case.
