Smart health watches marketed for seniors promise real-time monitoring but conceal exorbitant monthly subscription fees with no actual service

Who Gets Targeted

The primary victims are retired seniors aged 60 and above, especially those living alone or lacking frequent companionship from their children. They generally lack digital literacy and are easily attracted by promises such as free health check-ups and health monitoring. Meanwhile, financial anxiety regarding elderly care costs and health-related worries generate a strong emotional demand, causing them to blindly trust promotional pitches and ultimately suffer from continuous drains via high subscription fees.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: In private domain live streams on platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou, hosts use 'free health check-up + complimentary smart watch' as a gimmick, exaggerating that the watch can monitor blood pressure, blood glucose, uric acid, and other indicators in real-time, and demonstrating so-called testing instruments directly reading values in the air to create a tech-forward feel and spark viewer curiosity and trust.
• Step 2: Interactive Q&A sessions are set up in the live room to guide viewers into filling out personal information and joining a paid community, claiming that only community members can obtain the watch's 'activation code' and backend data monitoring services. The host uses professional terminology and fake data screenshots to reinforce the illusion that the watch features high-precision health monitoring capabilities.
• Step 3: 'Member packages' are pushed within the community under the guise of exorbitant monthly subscription fees of 199 or 299 RMB, claiming to provide 24-hour remote doctor supervision, health reports, and other value-added services. Psychological techniques such as limited-time discounts and FOMO (fear of missing out) are employed to prompt seniors to pay immediately.
• Step 4: After payment collection, the platform implements regular monthly deductions through automatic billing interfaces, embedding a 'hidden deduction' tag in the background so that users struggle to identify it in bill details. If users complain or request refunds, customer service stalls using reasons such as technical glitches and data delays, further pressuring the victims.
• Step 5: During long-term operations, the platform continuously pushes upgraded watches or additional feature packages for secondary sales at higher prices, forming a closed-loop high-subscription chain that ultimately results in cumulative losses ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of RMB for the victims.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Promotional claims stating that the watch can 'directly measure uric acid and cholesterol in the air' lack any scientific basis
• 🚩 The live room forcibly requires viewers to fill out personal information and join a paid community before device activation
• 🚩 Fees are labeled as 'membership subscriptions,' but actual service content is vague and lacks endorsement from regular medical institutions
• 🚩 High-pressure marketing tactics such as limited-time discounts and free physical exams are used to induce impulse payments from seniors
• 🚩 After-sales customer service stalls refunds using technical glitches or data delays as excuses, and deduction methods are difficult to identify on bills

真实案例

• In March 2026, a private domain live streaming platform 'Yueling Life' used free health check-ups as bait to pitch smart watches claiming real-time blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring to seniors like 56-year-old Mr. A, charging a monthly fee of 199 RMB with no actual data upload functionality, accumulating approximately 300,000 RMB in victim losses. (Source: [https://www.jinantimes.com.cn/news-146-5293550.html](https://www.jinantimes.com.cn/news-146-5293550.html))
• In July 2026, an official WeChat account published a 'Free Claim for Elderly Care Watch' campaign, which was actually a lure guiding seniors into a paid community, followed by forced monthly deductions of 299 RMB. Victims included retired teacher Ms. B, with cumulative losses of about 150,000 RMB. (Source: [https://www.guancha.cn/guanjiankang/2026_07_27_825233.shtml](https://www.guancha.cn/guanjiankang/2026_07_27_825233.shtml))
• In April 2026, the National Health Commission reported that nearly 20,000 stores nationwide were involved in false health monitoring promotions, including the 'Health Guardian' brand of smart watches, which adopted a strategy of sending low-priced bands first and then inducing upgrades, leading to thousands of seniors being subjected to long-term deductions and a total case amount exceeding 500,000 RMB. (Source: [https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2026/04-09/10601161.shtml](https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2026/04-09/10601161.shtml))

Official Stance

• April 9, 2026: National Health Commission of China, 'Warning on Private Domain Marketing Infringing on the Health Rights and Interests of the Elderly' notice. (Source: [https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2026/04-09/10601161.shtml](https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2026/04-09/10601161.shtml))
• July 13, 2026: Zhongning Public Security Bureau, 'Extraordinary Series of Online Live Streamer Elderly Care Fraud Cases' notice, reporting 81 people criminally detained. (Source: [http://www.nx.news.cn/20260713/b716d1a7166444119d04cab9535830a4/c.html](http://www.nx.news.cn/20260713/b716d1a7166444119d04cab9535830a4/c.html))
• February 6, 2026: CCTV special report 'Exposing Private Domain Live Streaming Elderly Care Frauds,' exposing false promotions across multiple platforms. (Source: [https://news.tqhzx.com/plus/view-37018-1.html](https://news.tqhzx.com/plus/view-37018-1.html))

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ When purchasing health-wearable devices for seniors, always verify whether the product holds a National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) registration certificate or relevant medical device filing records.
• ✅ Avoid directly providing personal information or joining paid communities in unfamiliar live rooms; consult and purchase through regular channels (such as official malls and authorized stores) first.
• ✅ Maintain skepticism toward any claims of 'one-touch blood pressure, blood glucose, or uric acid measurement,' and request professional test reports or third-party laboratory validation results.
• ✅ Regularly check bank statements and mobile app deduction records. If unidentifiable monthly fees are discovered, immediately contact the bank to stop payment and report the matter to the local consumer association or public security organs.