Fourth Exposure of the Proxy Rights Protection Black Industry: Shanghai Police Smashed Extortion Syndicate Case in 2026

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are primarily financial institutions and ordinary customers. Customers are often users of financial products and securities investment advisory services who are unfamiliar with the complaint process, making them vulnerable to proxy rights protection claims of "full refunds" or "no handling fees." Their psychological weaknesses include trusting the agent, urgency to solve problems, and inadequate protection of their own rights. Financial institutions face increased complaint-handling burdens and potential extortion losses, requiring careful investigation into each complaint, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, while also facing reputational risks and compliance pressure. The scale of victimization is expanding, with multiple institutions reporting cases.

骗局怎么运作

• Proxy rights protection entities post advertisements on short-video or live-streaming platforms, claiming to "help you surrender policies and get refunds" or offer "full refunds," attracting financial institution customers to contact them. Tactics include "professional team handles complaints, guaranteed results" and "no success, no fee," exploiting the victim's urgency to resolve disputes and inducing them to provide personal information and account credentials.
• Customers are guided to sign proxy agreements authorizing the agent to fully handle rights protection matters. These agreements often contain high commission clauses, such as charging 30-50% of the refund amount as commission, and require customers to stop direct communication with financial institutions, transferring all information to the agent for handling.
• Agents instigate customers to provide false proof or exaggerate facts, such as claiming mis-selling or that services failed to meet standards, and submit malicious complaints to regulatory authorities or financial institutions. At the same time, they forge chat logs, transaction vouchers, and other evidence to increase the credibility of the complaints, forcing institutions to investigate and issue rapid refunds.
• During the complaint process, agents extort financial institutions: threatening that if refunds are not issued or demands are not met, they will expose the institution to the media or launch public opinion attacks on social media to damage its reputation. In some cases, they directly demand "compensation" or "settlement fees," collecting illegal gains via cash or transfers.
• Agents transfer funds through illegal aggregated payment accounts or underground banks to evade bank risk-control monitoring. Customers ultimately receive partial refunds, but the agents lose contact after extracting high commissions, and customer information may be resold or used for other illegal activities, causing secondary losses.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Agents claim "100% refund success" or "rapid full refunds" in short videos or live streams without specific qualification certificates.
• 🚩 Requiring customers to sign full-power authorization agreements that prohibit direct contact with financial institutions, with agreements containing vague, high-commission clauses.
• 🚩 Instigating customers to provide false proof or exaggerate facts, such as forging mis-selling evidence, to increase complaint success rates.
• 🚩 Demanding "compensation" or "settlement fees" from financial institutions instead of following normal refund procedures, and threatening media exposure or public opinion attacks.
• 🚩 Fund collection uses unofficial aggregated payment accounts or underground banks to bypass bank risk controls, with ambiguous or frequently changing payee information.

真实案例

• In July 2026, Shanghai police cracked an illegal proxy rights protection case involving extortion against a securities investment advisory institution. Investigation revealed that agents instigated customers to complain against Shanghai Asia Business Investment Consulting Co., Ltd., forged evidence, and demanded exorbitant commissions, causing losses to the institution. Police criminally detained related personnel; the case was triggered by a report from the institution.
• In August 2026, police in Putuo District, Shanghai cracked down heavily on "proxy rights protection" extortion crimes, smashing an inter-provincial syndicate. The case involved financial institutions being maliciously complained against and extorted; agents attracted customers via short videos and lost contact after collecting high commissions. Victim institutions included multiple financial advisory firms, prompting police intervention and cross-regional collaboration.
• Wuhan police reported in July 2026 that over 100 police officers were dispatched to crack down on the proxy rights protection black industry, with 37 people criminally detained. Agents targeted financial institution customers, instigating complaints and extortion; a woman lost tens of thousands of yuan after blindly trusting a proxy refund promise. The case involved illegal fund transfers and customer information theft, triggering multiple reports. (Source: [http://www.eeo.com.cn/2026/0731/981116.shtml](http://www.eeo.com.cn/2026/0731/981116.shtml))
• In September 2025, the Quanzhou Intermediate People's Court in Fujian Province issued a final ruling upholding the original judgment in a case involving an illegal proxy policy-surrender black industry syndicate. This was the first time Quanzhou cracked down criminally on illegal proxy surrender intermediaries under the crime of extortion. The syndicate used high refund promises as bait to publish illegal advertisements, instigated and induced policyholders to commission them for rights protection, and illegally profited 489,600 yuan. The principal culprit was sentenced to eleven years in prison and fined 100,000 yuan. (Source: [https://www.workercn.cn/c/2025-09-30/8621314.shtml](https://www.workercn.cn/c/2025-09-30/8621314.shtml))

Official Stance

• On February 9, 2026, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly issued a risk warning regarding illegal "proxy rights protection" short-video and live-streaming traps.
• On May 13, 2026, five departments including the National Financial Regulatory Administration reiterated warnings about the hazards of the proxy rights protection black and grey industry, emphasizing the protection of financial consumers' information and rights.
• On August 7, 2026, the Shanghai Financial Regulatory Bureau and the police jointly issued a notification to severely crack down on proxy rights protection extortion crimes, reminding the public to protect their rights through regular channels and not to blindly trust proxy promises.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ The public should protect their rights through official channels of financial institutions or regulatory complaint hotlines, avoid blindly trusting proxy rights protection ads in short videos or live streams, and verify agent qualifications before taking action.
• ✅ Financial institutions should strengthen complaint-handling procedures, identify abnormal complaint patterns such as batch complaints or unsubstantiated evidence, report to the police promptly, and retain relevant evidence.
• ✅ Customers should read financial contract terms before seeking rights protection, understand surrender or refund policies, refuse to sign full-power authorization agreements, and retain the right to communicate directly with institutions.
• ✅ Regulatory authorities and police should strengthen cross-departmental collaboration, monitor illegal aggregated payments and dark-web communication channels, and regularly publish warning information to enhance public awareness and prevention.