A Nanping supermarket owner used 7,000 fake phone numbers to register accounts and redeem over ten tons of rice and eggs via platform new-user promotions, reselling them at markup—leading to arrest.

Social Context

E-commerce fraud exploiting ‘new-user incentive’ loopholes violates China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law and newly strengthened Platform Economy Regulations (2023). Authorities now require SMS verification via state-certified channels and cross-check registrations against national ID databases.

Safety Tip

Businesses should audit third-party platform terms rigorously—automated account creation violates most platforms’ ToS and triggers immediate deactivation plus legal liability.