AI Automated E-Commerce Training Loan Scam: Using AI unattended live-streaming courses as bait, inducing nearly 10,000 yuan in loans with only a few hundred yuan in commissions

Who Gets Targeted

The main victims fall into two categories: First, young people aged 20 to 35, struggling with insufficient primary income and eager to find side-hustle channels, who hold illusions of 'overtaking on a curve' regarding AI technology while lacking legal awareness of training loan contract terms, signing installment loan agreements under high-pressure sales pitches. Second, middle-aged and elderly or retired groups aged 45 and above, who experience strong anxiety about the AI era and fear being eliminated by society. After seeing 'learn AI e-commerce from scratch' ads on short-form video platforms, they proactively engage. Completely unfamiliar with 'unattended live-streaming' technology principles, they are easily blinded by backend screenshots and forged revenue data, possess weak rights-protection awareness, dare not confess to their children, and mostly choose to silently endure the losses.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1 - Low-Price Traffic Attraction: Placing a large number of course ads on short-form video platforms like Douyin, Kuaishou, and WeChat Channels with titles like '9.9 yuan trial course' and '39.9 yuan toolkit.' Sales pitches emphasize 'easy monthly income of 10,000 yuan from scratch' and 'AI makes money for you while you lie back and win.' In reality, the 9.9 yuan session only covers basic concepts, with the core purpose of capturing users' phone numbers and pulling them into WeChat groups for subsequent sales.
• Step 2 - Community Brainwashing: Pulling registrants into a course study WeChat group, assigning roles like 'head teacher' and 'teaching assistant' to daily send forged student earnings screenshots and curated pitches such as 'a certain student recovered 2,300 yuan on the third day.' Meanwhile, shills are deployed in the group to pose as successful students thanking the teacher, creating a bandwagon effect to eliminate guard and pave an emotional atmosphere for advanced course sales.
• Step 3 - Course Purchase Induction: Sales pitches upgrade to '3,980 yuan to 9,800 yuan advanced private coaching courses,' emphasizing limited slots and time-limited discounts. Head teachers apply one-on-one phone pressure, repeatedly stressing 'if you don't study now, you'll be eliminated by the times.' Some institutions even customize exclusive fake e-commerce store backend pages for students, forging real orders and commission data to enhance persuasiveness.
• Step 4 - Installment Loan Induction: Recommending third-party consumer finance installment plans for students unable to pay, with pitches claiming 'repay using the commissions earned, zero-pressure enrollment.' Students are guided to scan loan QR codes and sign electronic contracts. Some institutions embed the loan process directly into the registration page, where students click and automatically complete credit authorization and loan disbursement to the training institution's account.
• Step 5 - Delivery Shrinkage and Refund Obstruction: Actual advanced course content consists of pre-recorded generic videos and pieced-together materials, severely inconsistent with the promised one-on-one accompaniment. After students operate according to the instructions, actual commissions amount to only tens to hundreds of yuan. When requesting refunds, institutions stall on the grounds that 'classes have started' or 'the system has recorded learning progress,' or redirect refund channels to third-party 'rights-protection agencies' for secondary fee collection, forming a chain-reaction harvest.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Advertisements feature absolute earnings promises such as 'easily earn over 10,000 yuan a month,' 'lazy earnings,' and 'daily income of XX from scratch,' violating the prohibitive provisions of Article 9 of the Advertising Law.
• 🚩 A massive price gap/jump occurs from 9.9 yuan to several thousand yuan, with the low-price course having virtually no substantive content and serving merely as an entry point for lead generation and brainwashing.
• 🚩 Head teachers or sales staff repeatedly rush students during communication with 'limited slots' and 'last day of discount today,' exerting time pressure to prevent students from thinking calmly and comparing options.
• 🚩 The registration process forcibly or semi-forcibly embeds third-party installment loans, guiding students to scan loan QR codes and sign electronic contracts without actively disclosing the loan entity and default consequences.
• 🚩 The store backend data and real orders displayed to students by the institution cannot be reconciled, or the backend page connects to a self-built system by the institution rather than official e-commerce platform interfaces.
• 🚩 Refund clauses set multiple prerequisites, such as 'must provide course completion certificate' and 'system recorded progress must exceed 80%,' which are virtually impossible to trigger in actual operation.

真实案例

• According to CNR reports on March 15, 2026, a young woman saw an 'AI automated e-commerce' training ad on a short-form video platform and registered, paying nearly 10,000 yuan in tuition for advanced courses. The institution promised 'AI will live-stream and sell goods for you,' but after actual operation, she only generated a little over 100 yuan in commission income, far below the promotional promise. When requesting a refund, the institution refused on the grounds that 'classes have already started.' The report also pointed out that similar complaints on the woodpecker consumer complaint platform are showing a batch-growth trend.
• According to Xinhua News Agency reports on March 17, 2026, multiple young victims reported being induced to pay tuition via third-party platform installment loans after signing up for 'AI + training' courses. Some institutions customized fake e-commerce websites for students to demonstrate earnings data. After actual operation, students found the platforms were self-built by the institutions and order data were completely forged, leaving them with no recourse for refunds while already burdened with tens of thousands of yuan in installment loan debts.
• According to 36Kr reports in March 2026, middle-aged and elderly groups are becoming the target of directional harvesting for AI training. Several retired seniors registered for 'AI e-commerce classes' on short-form video platforms and were subjected to layer-by-layer price hikes reaching several thousand yuan. Guided by 'head teacher' pitches, some seniors used their pensions to pay course fees. Course content consisted only of basic operation pre-recorded videos and involved induced loan operations, with victims choosing silence out of shame to tell their children.

Official Stance

• Xinhua News Agency published an investigative report on March 17, 2026, pointing out that some 'AI + training' institutions hunt young people through customizing fake e-commerce websites, inducing installment loans, and setting refund barriers, calling for regulatory authorities to step in and rectify the situation.
• CNR published a woodpecker consumer complaint investigation on March 15, 2026, exposing the chaos in 'AI automated e-commerce' training, pointing out the massive gap between 'earning 10,000 yuan effortlessly' promotion and actual commissions of only a hundred yuan, reminding consumers to be wary of exaggerated promotions.
• Nanfang Daily published a report on March 16, 2026 titled 'Beware of AI Educational Training: False Advertising and Difficult Refunds,' reminding that false advertising and refund difficulties exist in the AI education and training industry, and suggesting consumers retain evidence to protect their rights according to law.
• People's Daily Client republished a report in March 2026 titled '"Easily Earns 10,000 Yuan a Month"? These Scams Are Targeting Young People!,' warning that such AI training scams induce young people to pay via high-yield promises.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before registering, check the training institution's business registration information, business scope, and administrative penalty records on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System to rule out entities without educational training qualifications or those listed in abnormal business operation directories. Re-check for any newly added penalty records right before signing contracts and making payments.
• ✅ Never make payments on the spot or sign installment loan contracts under the high-pressure sales pitches of course promotions. Ask the other party to provide the complete contract and fee details, take it home to study calmly for 24 hours before deciding.
• ✅ Maintain high skepticism toward earnings screenshots and store backend data displayed by institutions, demanding raw data screenshots from official e-commerce platform backends and verifying store authenticity. Log in directly to the e-commerce platform to confirm when necessary.
• ✅ If already induced to sign an installment loan contract, immediately issue a written objection to the lender while retaining evidence, and file complaints and reports with the 12315 platform and local financial regulatory departments. For large amounts, report the case to public security authorities.
• ✅ Retain chat records, voice call recordings, and transfer vouchers throughout WeChat groups or one-on-one communications. Any absolute earnings promise pitches discovered can be submitted to market supervision departments as evidence of advertising violations.