AI Training Loan Induction Scam: Harvesting victims through zero-barrier monetization scripts disguised as paid knowledge

Who Gets Targeted

Victims fall into two categories: First, young office workers wanting to easily cash in through side hustles face employment pressure and are eager to seek low-barrier, high-return monetization paths, making it easy for pitches like 'earning over ten thousand a month' and 'zero-basis guaranteed teaching' to break through their defenses. Second, middle-aged and elderly groups wanting to keep up with the trends or seeking a livelihood have large information gaps. Often lured in by free trial classes, they impulsively pay thousands to tens of thousands of yuan in tuition under the atmosphere fueled by shills in the group, ultimately finding they learn nothing substantive and face dead ends when trying to get refunds.

骗局怎么运作

• Throwing out bait for traffic attraction: Launching massive ads on short-video platforms or live-streaming rooms using 9.9 yuan trial classes or tens-of-yuan toolkits as gimmicks, claiming zero-basis learning and easy monthly earnings over 10,000 yuan after completion. Using algorithm targeting to push content to young people in need of side hustles or information-lagged middle-aged/elderly groups, funneling them into private communities.
• Fabricated data for brainwashing: Arranging a large number of shills in the community to act as successful students, sending forged screenshots of automated AI live-streaming sales or graphic generation to obtain high commissions, while lecturers cooperate with brainwashing live broadcasts, exaggerating monetization capabilities and creating an anxiety-ridden atmosphere of being left behind by the times if one does not study.
• Inducing high-priced course purchases: Packaging actually low-value patchwork materials into tens-of-thousands-yuan practical courses. Once psychological defenses are broken by scripts, the courses pushed to victims often range from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan, promising one-on-one tutoring and order-taking guarantees, when in fact they only send a few cloud drive links.
• Inducing installment loans: For victims unable to pay the full amount, scripts guide them to use third-party education installment loan platforms to pay fees, claiming the loan can be repaid with money earned from taking orders. In reality, once the loan is disbursed, funds go directly into the institution's pockets, and victims retain the loan repayment obligation even if they drop the course.
• Customized scam network closed-loop: To deal with victim skepticism, institutions even customize fake order-taking platforms or e-commerce data networks for them, letting victims see false commissions but unable to withdraw them, eventually demanding continued upgrades to advanced courses under various pretexts until the victim wakes up, whereupon the institution immediately blocks them or refuses refunds using various contractual terms.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Claiming zero-basis, low-barrier learning with earnings over 10,000 yuan a month or even passive income immediately after completion, making absolute promises such as guaranteed returns or guaranteed order recycling.
• 🚩 Course institutions lack clear educational qualifications, lecturers have unsearchable backgrounds or continuously use pseudonyms, dare not show their faces on public platforms, and course content is largely patched-together open-source online tutorials.
• 🚩 Extreme urgency to place orders during the sales process, creating anxiety and demanding payment via private transfers or specific unclear third-party education installment platforms.
• 🚩 Abnormal activity in student groups with a massive amount of earnings screenshots posted daily, but posting accounts are mostly newly registered or shills consistently posting only revenue screenshots.
• 🚩 Hidden clauses buried in contracts, such as virtual goods being non-refundable once opened, or no refunds for failing to complete courses due to personal reasons, with customer service responding perfunctorily or directly losing contact during rights defense.

真实案例

• According to a Xinhua News Agency report in March 2026, multiple young people were hunted by derivative training traps, with a young victim being mesmerized by a customized scam network where the institution not only forged graphic generation e-commerce data networks but also induced them to take out nearly 10,000 yuan in online loan installments for tuition, ultimately finding the so-called order-taking platform fake and refunds impossible.
• According to a CNR report on March 15, 2026, an institution recruited students under the guise of automated e-commerce sales yielding 10,000 yuan passively. After victim A paid nearly 10,000 yuan in tuition, the so-called automated sales system could only earn back a hundred yuan in commission, and withdrawal requests were fobbed off with various excuses, leaving multiple victims with unresolved complaints.
• According to a Tencent News report in April 2026, low-priced trial class traps emerged in multiple locations. A middle-aged/elderly victim was induced to buy high-priced courses claiming easy monthly earnings of 10,000 yuan, failing to learn practical skills while also being induced into loans, damaging their savings, yet the institution continues scamming despite repeated complaints.

Official Stance

• Xinhua News Agency published an investigative report on March 17, 2026 titled 'Customized scam networks, loan inducement, unreachable refunds: Some derivative training hunts young people', warning about the risks of related training-induced loans.
• CNR published a Woodpecker Consumer Complaints special report on March 15, 2026 titled 'Investigation into automated e-commerce training chaos: Harvesting traps behind earning 10,000 yuan passively', exposing the chaos of harvesting tuition under the guise of technical applications.
• Nanfang Daily published a major news report on March 16, 2026 titled 'Beware of false publicity and refund difficulties in related educational and training sectors', reminding consumers to be alert to false publicity and refund difficulties in the related educational and training field.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Verify institutional qualifications: Before purchasing any high-priced training course, check the institution's business license and business scope via the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, beware of shell companies without regular educational operation permits, and additionally check shareholder capital contribution status and abnormal operation directories within the system.
• ✅ Refuse induced loans: Firmly avoid applying for education installment loans through unclear third-party platforms. If loans are truly necessary, use regular banking channels and verify contract terms, avoiding brainwashing by pitches about repaying loans with earned money.
• ✅ Retain evidence for rights defense: Keep all promotional screenshots, chat records, contracts, and payment vouchers when purchasing courses. Report immediately to 12315 or consumer complaint platforms upon discovering false advertising or inability to withdraw funds.
• ✅ Beware of free bait: Maintain high vigilance toward low-priced or even free zero-basis high-return trial classes. There is no free lunch in the world; truly cutting-edge technology requires systematic learning rather than short-term cramming.