AI Short Video Cross-Border Agency Operation Franchise Trap: High Training Fees Packaging Fake Profits

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are mostly young entrepreneurs, employed individuals, or unemployed job seekers lacking e-commerce operation experience. Eager to achieve quick wealth through 'one-click duplication,' they psychologically pursue low thresholds and high returns. They are easily induced by exaggerated earnings, success story videos, and so-called official endorsements, lacking risk identification ability—especially when they see recommendations from acquaintances or influencers on social media, making them more prone to impulsive payments.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Operators publish promotional videos on platforms such as WeChat groups, Douyin, and Kuaishou claiming 'AI automatic video duplication for e-commerce, monthly income of 100,000 yuan,' accompanied by forged transaction screenshots and celebrity spokesperson images, using slogans like 'zero experience, zero cost, fully automatic' to create the illusion of success.
• Step 2: Interested viewers are guided to join paid training groups or franchise plans, requiring them to pay 'entry fees,' 'technical training fees,' or 'system usage fees' ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of yuan, claiming to provide AI duplication tools, premium goods sources, and exclusive platform matchmaking, with the common phrase 'as long as you follow the operations, profits are guaranteed.'
• Step 3: During the training period, only theories and demonstrations are shown. During actual operations, trainees are deliberately made to process 'simulated data,' after which trainees are told to open shops on overseas live-streaming platforms themselves, claiming they need to complete 'account building and product listing' on their own. At this point, the operators restrict withdrawals through technical means, set high service fees, or demand 'secondary top-ups,' continuously extorting more money under the pretext of 'increasing exposure' or 'avoiding account bans.'
• Step 4: Operators establish a 'rebate reward' mechanism within the trainee fund pool, requiring trainees to invite newcomers to join in order to earn commissions, forming a typical multi-level fission model that essentially amounts to disguised pyramid selling. Whenever a new franchisee pays, old trainees are encouraged to continue promoting, forming a closed loop.
• Step 5: After the project runs for several months, operators suddenly close the training groups, withdraw technical support, and even disappear from the internet, resulting in paid fees being unrecoverable, leaving victims facing consequences such as platform store bans and frozen funds.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Frequent use of exaggerated earnings vocabulary in promotions such as 'AI one-click duplication,' 'fully automatic,' 'zero cost,' and 'monthly income of 100,000'
• 🚩 Demanding a one-time high entry fee or training fee without providing a clear service list or contract
• 🚩 Promising to provide exclusive foreign platform goods sources or technical support, but failing to provide them or restricting withdrawals during actual operations
• 🚩 Requiring the recruitment of new people or secondary top-ups after joining to unlock features, forming an obvious fission rebate structure
• 🚩 Operators communicate through private groups and personal WeChat accounts, lacking formal enterprise qualifications and public customer service channels

真实案例

• In March 2026, an institution self-proclaimed as an AI short video e-commerce training organization established an 'AI cross-border agency operation' franchise project in Beijing, collecting a total of about 620,000 yuan in franchise fees from more than 30 trainees before the project closed and the person in charge lost contact. (Source: Beijing Daily)
• In May 2026, an entrepreneur in Shenzhen was induced in a WeChat group to pay 50,000 yuan for an 'AI duplication system usage fee,' later finding that the system could not automatically capture products at all and that the platform withdrawal function was restricted. Ultimately, with police intervention, it was confirmed that the operator had transferred the funds to an overseas account. (Source: Anti-Fraud Alliance)
• In August 2026, a cross-border e-commerce platform pointed out in an official announcement that recently multiple AI short video e-commerce projects defrauded franchise fees through false propaganda, with the cumulative involved amount exceeding 3 million yuan, and victims distributed across Guangdong, Shanghai, and other places. (Source: China Youth Daily)

Official Stance

• 2026-03-15 The China Internet Illegal and Criminal Reporting Center issued the 'Special Warning on AI Automatic E-Commerce Training Scams,' reminding the public to be vigilant against high franchise fees and false earnings propaganda.
• 2026-05-20 The State Administration for Market Regulation explicitly prohibited unauthorized AI agency operation services from charging fees to the public in the 'Cross-Border E-Commerce Platform Supervision Guidelines.'
• 2026-08-12 The Cyberspace Administration of China issued the 'Notice on the Special Action to Combat False AI E-Commerce Promotion,' listing multiple cases suspected of fraud and requiring platforms to strengthen content review.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before deciding to franchise or pay, be sure to verify the institution's industrial and commercial registration information, business license, and qualification certificates. If the other party fails to provide formal materials, refuse immediately.
• ✅ When watching promotional videos, watch out for signs of exaggerated earnings, lack of real cases, or displaying only simulated data. Encountering such information requires maintaining vigilance and verifying independently.
• ✅ Do not blindly trust technical promises such as 'one-click duplication' and 'fully automatic.' Require the other party to provide verifiable technical demonstrations and actual operation permissions, and avoid paying large sums of money all at once.
• ✅ If payment has been made and fraud is suspected, promptly save chat records and transfer vouchers, report the case to local public security organs, and file a complaint with the platform to prevent further transfer of funds.