"The speed of returns cannot keep up with the speed of my grandmother being scammed into buying."
Recently, internet celebrity anchor "Xiucai" has been banned, with millions of followers, mainly middle-aged and elderly women. Prior to this, he was reported by netizens as suspected of fraud. After the account suspension, another female anchor who has a similar number of fans as the "scholar" but is more popular among middle-aged and elderly men, "Yixiao Qingcheng", has also been controversial.
The two recently set a record for a live broadcast in the "Century PK" - receiving over 20 million online viewers in just 3 hours. Some netizens claim that "Yixiao Qingcheng" has a 60 level fan base, which means it has spent at least 20 million yuan on it. At present, the account of "One Smiling City" has been discontinued.
On the left of the picture is "Laughing City", and on the right is "Scholar". The two had a live broadcast before.
Seeking love from thousands of miles and rewarding people with large sums of money... These incredible star chasing actions are taking place in the Internet world of the middle-aged and elderly. How to make the middle-aged and elderly enjoy the rich and wonderful Internet world while safely "surfing" has become an urgent problem to be solved.
The speed of returns
I can't keep up with my grandmother's speed of being scammed into buying
Recently, Huang Can felt a headache for his grandmother's purchase of a large number of "three no products" in the live broadcast room.
"They fabricated those scripts, and every day my parents said that when the ship sank, they would give them a batch of gold at a low price. My grandmother trusted them very much."
Huang Can told China News Network that her grandmother followed several anchors with the keyword "common people's homes" in their account names on short video platforms, and purchased a large number of products under the promotion of these anchors, spending about 5000 yuan before and after. After receiving it, she found that they were all fake gold and three no health supplements.
Huang Can couldn't convince her grandmother to return the goods as soon as she received them, but if the deadline passed, she couldn't return them. "The speed of returns cannot keep up with the speed of my milk being scammed into buying, it's really helpless." Le Can posted these incidents on social media and found that many families with elders have similar experiences.
Click on the accounts of some of the anchors, and their live streaming rooms are not directly selling products, but rather situational stories. The "fictional plot" logo is also displayed in the upper left corner of their page.
Live streaming scenario scripts can be easily purchased on e-commerce platforms. Previously, some media outlets had exposed the phenomenon of some anchors putting on a bitter drama in the live broadcast room, with online purchase prices ranging from a few yuan to several tens of yuan. China News Network purchased one set for 4.9 yuan, which contains a large amount of emotional script materials. The merchant claims that there are 5000 to 6000 pieces inside, and suggests adapting them appropriately according to their own situation before use.
Host PK, fans fall for it?
Buying "three no products" may also lead to returns to reduce losses, but if they are induced to give live streaming tips, it will be difficult for the elderly to recover their money.
In August this year, Yang Qing discovered that her father had transferred 4900 yuan to a broadcaster named "Dongfang Suona~God of War" without her knowledge.
"This anchor said in the live broadcast room that he helped him with PK, cashed in to his fans, added WeChat privately, and sent private messages to ask my father for a bank card number. Yang Qing told China News Network that his father is in his 60s and usually lives with an extra person. He has been following" Eastern Suona~God of War "for about a year and has only given him a reward.".
The reason is that the anchor told the elderly that the reward money will be divided and cashed back later. "When the money is transferred, people are blacklisted and can no longer be contacted." In Yang Qing's view, this is an obvious act of deception. She found the platform, and the other party admitted that the anchor had engaged in inducement behavior, but could not refund the fee that Ms. Yang's father had already paid.
After the incident, Yang Qing also reported to the police, but the police stated that this was not a criminal case and could not be executed. "The platform asked me to find internet celebrities myself, but we can't even reach each other. How can I find them?" she said.
Yang Qing's father's experience is not an exception. In May of this year, a 62 year old woman named Xin from Beijing reported that a "scholar" used dividends as bait to scam her out of 510000 yuan through online rewards and offline dividends. Subsequently, local police personnel stated that they had met with the informant to understand the situation and conducted an investigation based on the clues provided. No illegal or criminal activities were found, and both parties reached a settlement on their own.
Experts call on platforms to provide aging friendly network services
According to data, nearly 40% of users aged 41 and above on short video platforms, and nearly 20% of users aged 51 and above, have a monthly online consumption capacity of over 2000 yuan. The middle-aged and elderly people have become Internet users with considerable strength. There are various deceptions and difficulties in safeguarding their rights... How can the elderly survive in the Internet world?
Lawyer Xia Hailong from Shanghai Shenlun Law Firm told China News Network that on the one hand, the platform has the responsibility to regulate the behavior of platform anchors, such as regulating their qualifications, etc. On the other hand, the platform should also provide aging friendly network services for elderly users, such as highlighting reminders for content related to property and personal safety. If the platform fails to fulfill relevant management obligations, it should bear certain responsibilities for user losses.
Liu Xiaochun, Executive Director of the Internet Rule of Law Research Center of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the elderly are a more vulnerable group in the Internet world. "Their information acquisition and judgment skills are relatively inexperienced in the era of the internet, making them susceptible to being induced by criminals and causing property damage."
Liu Xiaochun suggests that the platform should establish corresponding algorithm models targeting the characteristics of middle-aged and elderly users, and provide system prompts and content flow restrictions when inappropriate content appears. "For example, referring to the idea of protecting minors' internet access and applying it to the protection of the elderly," she said.
