AI-Powered Recruitment-to-Training Scam: Using AI to Fabricate Companies and Interviews to Extort Training Fees from Job Seekers

Who Gets Targeted

The primary victims are 2025-2026 college graduates, career changers, and unemployed youth, particularly those with associate or bachelor's degrees who have vague expectations of AI industry salaries but are desperate to enter the field. They are often vulnerable to psychological triggers like 'monthly salary over 10,000 yuan,' 'no experience required,' and 'guaranteed job placement.' After paying, many remain silent due to embarrassment or the high cost of seeking legal recourse, with some falling into debt through training loans, leading to damaged credit scores and significant psychological stress.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Mass-post high-paying jobs such as 'AI Comic Creator,' 'AI Data Annotation Engineer,' or 'AI Model Trainer' on major recruitment platforms with salaries ranging from 8,000 to 15,000 yuan/month, explicitly stating 'no experience required' or 'career changers welcome.' Simultaneously, use AI to generate fake company websites, project portfolios, and team introductions, impersonating well-known companies or registering shell companies to pass platform verification.
• Step 2: After a candidate applies, the recruiter quickly schedules an online interview. The interviewer uses AI-generated scripts rather than professional technical questions, avoiding deep dives into technical details while exaggerating industry shortages and implying the candidate has 'potential despite a weak foundation.' This creates a false sense of success and urgency, leading candidates to believe they are one step away from being hired.
• Step 3: Once the interview is 'passed,' the recruiter demands the candidate sign a training agreement and pay tuition fees ranging from 2,000 to 30,000 yuan under the guise of 'pre-job skills training' or 'project assessment.' If the candidate cannot pay, they are guided to take out 'training loans' or 'education installments.' The agreements include high penalty clauses to lock in costs, and AI-generated 'salary certificates' or 'employment guarantees' are used to enhance credibility.
• Step 4: Training content typically consists of free, publicly available AI tool tutorials stitched together. The courses are short, lack real commercial projects, and the 'mentors' are actually sales staff using scripts. After training, the company refuses to arrange employment, citing 'failure to meet assessment standards' or 'project cancellation,' or refers the candidate to low-paying, unrelated jobs to force them to quit, completing the cycle of shifting blame.
• Step 5: When victims file complaints, the company deflects responsibility by claiming 'services were provided' and 'the agreement was signed voluntarily.' Some companies frequently change names, registered addresses, or simply shut down and disappear. Because the training loans are provided by third-party financial institutions, victims are still required to make monthly payments, effectively cutting off the path to legal recourse and causing long-term damage to their credit history.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Job salaries are significantly higher than market rates, yet the requirements state 'no experience required' or 'career changers welcome.' Legitimate AI technical roles have clear skill and academic thresholds; there is no standard path to earning over 10,000 yuan a month without prior experience.
• 🚩 The interview process avoids testing professional skills, instead repeatedly implying that 'your foundation is weak and you need training' or 'there is a huge industry shortage.' Hiring is directly linked to paid training, and standardized scripts are used throughout.
• 🚩 The company requires the signing of training agreements with penalty clauses and financial terms, guiding or forcing candidates into 'training loans' or 'education installments,' often with hidden links between the lender and the training institution.
• 🚩 Background information on the company appears abnormal on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System: short registration history, business scope excluding education/training despite offering it, or frequent changes in company name or registered address.
• 🚩 Training content is a collection of free public tutorials with no real commercial project integration. Promises of 'guaranteed employment' or 'minimum income' lack written guarantees or contain disclaimer clauses in the contract.

真实案例

• In April 2026, as reported by Sina Tech citing Jiemian News, BOSS Zhipin disclosed a typical 'recruitment-to-training' case and launched a special governance campaign: A recruiter posed as hiring 'AI Comic Generation Interns,' using tactics like 'college students with no experience can do it' to attract applicants, then demanding a 2,000 yuan 'investment' for training, promising a full-time position with an 8,500 yuan salary after completing 10 comics. The platform's spring recruitment campaign banned 2,335 high-risk companies and disposed of over 12,800 risky accounts. (Source: https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/roll/2026-04-16/doc-inhusrah3978522.shtml)
• In August 2026, CCTV News reported that Beijing police cracked a fake recruitment fraud case, arresting all 11 gang members. On January 22, 2026, the Chaoyang Branch of the Beijing Public Security Bureau received reports that a company was using the names of well-known firms to promise 'special channels' for official positions, requiring candidates to pay tens of thousands of yuan in 'processing fees.' They sent fake interview invitations, conducted interviews in rented office buildings, signed fraudulent 'Training Agreements,' and assigned victims to fake 'internship locations.' All 11 members have been approved for arrest by the procuratorate.
• In August 2026, Chuan Guan News reported via Legal Daily that the Yantai Public Security Bureau in Shandong province dismantled a 'high-end employment' fraud gang, arresting 22 suspects. The case involved over 10 million yuan and affected more than 100 victims across multiple provinces. Since May 2024, the gang had posted fake job listings copied from state-owned enterprise websites, signing 'employment service contracts' to collect 'deposits' or 'facilitation fees' ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of yuan. 10 key suspects, including Li and Lin, have been approved for arrest. (Source: https://cbgc.scol.com.cn/news/7839816)
• In April 2026, The Paper reported that Shanghai police dismantled a cross-provincial fraud gang that used online part-time training as a front to scam unemployed mothers and college students out of high training fees. Over 100 suspects, including a person named Li, were arrested, with the case involving over 25 million yuan. The gang induced victims to purchase online courses (which were available for free) via installments and withheld refunds. 12 key suspects have been approved for arrest on charges of fraud. (Source: https://www.163.com/dy/article/KQVG3U900514R9P4.html)

Official Stance

• In 2026, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, and the National Financial Regulatory Administration jointly issued a risk warning regarding 'recruitment-to-training' and 'training loan' traps, explicitly stating that such activities constitute fraud.
• In February 2026, the Supreme People's Court released typical cases of recruitment-to-training fraud, establishing that 'inducing job seekers to pay training fees or take out training loans under the guise of recruitment' is a criterion for conviction and sentencing for fraud.
• In May 2026, People's Daily Online published a special report titled 'Beware of Recruitment-to-Training Scams, Stay Away from Black Intermediary Traps,' reminding job seekers to identify key characteristics of these scams and providing reporting channels via 12333 and 12315.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before applying on major recruitment platforms, use the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System to verify the recruiter's business license registration date and whether their business scope includes 'education and training.' Be highly cautious if the company was registered less than a year ago or has an abnormal business scope (check if shareholders are newly established sole proprietorships and if registered capital is paid-in).
• ✅ During the interview, ask the recruiter to clearly define job responsibilities and requirements. If the process is pushed forward with the tactic 'your foundation is weak and you need training' and hiring is linked to paid training, immediately terminate the process and take screenshots of the interview records as evidence.
• ✅ Before signing any agreement, review every clause regarding fees, refunds, and penalties. Pay special attention to whether it includes 'training loan' installment terms or third-party lending. Demand written guarantees for employment and reject purely verbal promises.
• ✅ If payment has already been made, immediately call the 12333 human resources service hotline or the 12315 consumer complaint hotline. If the amount is significant or fraud is suspected, report it to the local public security bureau, keeping key evidence such as contracts, chat logs, and transfer receipts.