AI Pension Planning App Collects Bank Card Information to Recommend Fraudulent Public Offering Financial Products

Who Gets Targeted

The primary victims are seniors over 60 who have some savings but are unfamiliar with mobile financial operations, particularly retirees living alone or whose children are not nearby. They generally share anxiety about preserving their pensions and are easily swayed by rhetoric such as 'government-supported,' 'public offering funds,' and 'stable high returns.' Fraudsters build emotional dependence through weeks of daily check-ins, then create a sense of urgency with 'limited quotas' or 'internal channels,' leading victims to bind their bank cards and transfer funds without consulting their children.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Contact via disguised official channels. Fraud syndicates use SMS, WeChat groups, or short video ads to promote content like 'AI Intelligent Pension Planning' or 'National Pension Supplement Plan,' inducing seniors to click links to download counterfeit apps. Scripts include claims of 'CBIRC filing,' 'SOE background,' and 'designed specifically for retirees,' often accompanied by forged official document screenshots.
• Step 2: Collecting bank card information within the app. The counterfeit app interface highly mimics legitimate banks or public fund platforms. The registration process requires entering names, ID numbers, bank card numbers, registered phone numbers, and even SMS verification codes. Fraudsters induce seniors to enter this information under the guise of 'opening a pension account' or 'binding a bank card for profit distribution.'
• Step 3: AI-simulated profits and fake customer service. The app displays AI-generated daily profit curves and portfolio details. Initially, small withdrawals are allowed to build trust. Customer service, acting as 'AI Financial Advisors,' interacts frequently via voice or text, sending fake notifications like 'Today's profit has arrived' or 'Your account grew by 1.2% compared to yesterday.'
• Step 4: Recommending fraudulent public offering financial products. Once the senior's trust is gained, customer service begins recommending so-called 'exclusive public offering funds' or 'pension target date products,' claiming they are 'principal-protected,' offer '8% to 12% annualized returns,' and that 'only 50 spots remain.' In reality, these products do not exist on the websites or official distribution channels of any licensed public fund company.
• Step 5: Cutting off withdrawals and disappearing. Once the senior invests a large sum, the app refuses withdrawals citing reasons like 'system upgrades,' 'tax payments,' or 'account anomalies requiring unfreezing.' Subsequently, customer service goes silent, the app is removed or becomes inaccessible, group chats are disbanded, and the victim discovers their bank funds have been transferred away in batches.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 The app asks for direct entry of bank card numbers, SMS verification codes, or payment passwords. Legitimate public fund subscriptions never require bank card passwords or verification codes.
• 🚩 Promises of 'principal protection' or 'guaranteed returns.' Public fund products are prohibited from promising returns; any marketing claiming principal protection is non-compliant.
• 🚩 The so-called 'AI Financial Advisor' cannot provide a fund code, filing number, or the full name of a licensed institution, and cannot be found in the fund sales license registry published by the CSRC.
• 🚩 Initially allowing small withdrawals but setting barriers like 'new user experience only' or 'tax payment required for withdrawal' is a typical tactic used in Ponzi schemes.
• 🚩 Customer service refuses to provide product contracts or risk disclosure statements, and demands transfers via personal WeChat, Alipay, or private accounts instead of deductions from bank-custodied accounts.
• 🚩 The app name is similar to well-known banks or fund companies but with subtle differences, such as 'Minsheng Financial Services' or 'Southern Fund Premium Edition'.

真实案例

• In January 2026, a 63-year-old retired female employee in Beijing downloaded an 'AI Pension Planning' app via a WeChat group and transferred a total of 187,000 RMB in three installments to purchase a so-called 'National Pension Target Public Offering Fund.' When attempting to withdraw, she was asked to pay 23,000 RMB in 'personal income tax,' after which the app became inaccessible.
• In February 2026, a 68-year-old senior living alone in Shanghai was induced by an 'AI Financial Advisor' to bind a bank card in a counterfeit app and purchase 'exclusive stable wealth management,' transferring a total of 92,000 RMB. When family members discovered it, the funds had already been transferred into multiple personal accounts in 5 separate transactions.
• In March 2026, a retired male teacher in Jiangsu saw an ad for 'Pension Fund Internal Subscription' on a short video platform. After downloading the app and following instructions, he invested nearly 300,000 RMB within three months. After the platform 'ran away,' he only recovered about 30,000 RMB.
• In November 2019, the Zhoushan Intermediate People's Court in Zhejiang Province sentenced the masterminds of 'Dejin International' and 'Zhonghui International' to life imprisonment. These fake fund trading platforms mimicked legitimate ones by setting up fund trading, payment/withdrawal, and customer service functions, with staff posing as fund managers and investment advisors to defraud victims of over 120 million RMB. (Source: https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/roll/2023-10-24/doc-imzsemwu0141957.shtml)
• From October 2015 to November 2017, Shenyang Laomale Trading Co., Ltd. opened over 1,000 stores nationwide under the guise of 'pension investment' and 'member investment rebates,' defrauding over 1.7 million participants of 6.2 billion RMB. The Shenyang Intermediate People's Court sentenced the mastermind to life imprisonment for illegal fundraising fraud. (Source: https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/372731.html)

Official Stance

• On January 27, 2026, Sina Finance reprinted a report from 21jingji.com, exposing the new script in elderly-targeted financial fraud where AI forgery serves as bait and fake care serves as the harvest.
• On October 31, 2025, Xinhua News Agency published an investigative report titled 'The Many Traps Targeting the Elderly: How to Protect Their Wallets?', warning the public to be vigilant against pension financial scams.
• Local financial regulatory bureaus in various regions issued risk warnings between 2025 and 2026, explicitly stating that any wealth management app requiring seniors to provide bank card passwords or SMS verification codes is suspected of illegal fundraising or fraud.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ When searching for fund companies or banks in app stores, look for official verification badges and do not click links in SMS or group chats to download apps.
• ✅ Check the list of fund sales institutions on the official websites of the CSRC or the Asset Management Association of China to confirm if the platform has legal sales qualifications.
• ✅ Communicate with children or relatives before any financial operation and do not complete large transfers alone. Banks have launched 'delayed arrival for large transfers by seniors' features; you can proactively contact your bank to enable this.
• ✅ Do not disclose bank card passwords, SMS verification codes, or facial recognition information to anyone. Legitimate financial institutions will not request this information via phone or app.
• ✅ If you suspect you have been defrauded, immediately call your bank's customer service to freeze your account, save chat logs and transfer receipts, and report the case by calling 110 or the 96110 anti-fraud hotline.