AI Anime IP Authorization and Creation Fee Scam: Collecting Authorization Deposits Followed by Stalling and Disappearing

Who Gets Targeted

Victims fall primarily into two categories: First, small and medium-sized copyright holders and web novel authors who hold web novel or comic IPs but lack AI production expertise. Eager to monetize amid the hype surrounding 'AI comic drama authorization,' they are targeted by teams disguised as 'AI anime customization platforms' that collect tens of thousands of yuan in authorization and adaptation fees. Second, freelance illustrators and studios hoping to profit by taking on AI anime outsourcing work, who are charged security deposits and channel fees by fake 'order issuers.' Both groups share a psychological vulnerability: anxiety-driven expectations regarding AI monetization trends, fearing they will 'miss out.' After viewing exquisite sample reels and fabricated playback data, they drop their guard and fail to verify the counterpart's business registration and past delivery records before paying.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Packaging a professional image. Fraud rings register cultural media or network technology companies, build seemingly legitimate 'AI anime customization' official websites and mini-programs, display numerous AI-generated anime sample reels, and claim to have signed with multiple legitimate IP libraries holding exclusive adaptation rights. Most of these sample reels and IP lists are plagiarized or unverified fabrications.
• Step 2: Targeted traffic generation. They run promotional content on short-form video platforms featuring topics like 'AI comic drama IP authorization hype is exploding' and 'adaptation authorization fees reach hundreds of thousands,' luring IP holders and small studios seeking work into private chats and bypassing platform-guaranteed transactions.
• Step 3: Collecting multiple fee categories. For IP holders, the pitch is 'Your work has blockbuster potential; we collect IP authorization adaptation and production deposits for scheduling and creation,' ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of yuan. For freelance order-takers, they charge 'onboarding deposits,' 'platform certification fees,' and 'material package buyout fees,' all collected via personal QR codes or private accounts without issuing invoices.
• Step 4: Creating the illusion of performance to maximize gains. After collecting fees, they deliver one or two rough AI-generated teaser trailers or sample images to IP holders, then delay further progress under pretexts like 'fine-tuning,' 'waiting for scheduling,' or 'platform review.' During this period, they request secondary payments for 'additional special effects budgets' and 'traffic promotion fees,' gradually draining the victim's budget.
• Step 5: Stalling deliveries, cutting contact, and fleeing with funds. When victims repeatedly urge delivery or demand refunds, customer service stalls for weeks claiming 'finance processing is underway,' then deletes accounts, disbands chat groups, and abandons office addresses. They rebrand under new names and launch new accounts, repeatedly exploiting the extremely low cost of AI production to harvest different groups.
• Step 6: Exploiting the cost gap of rights protection to escape. Single transaction amounts are usually kept between several thousand and tens of thousands of yuan. Victims are scattered nationwide with dispersed clues, making it difficult to consolidate cases. Victims often write off their losses due to the high cost of legal recourse—a psychological calculation the gang relies on when designing payment tier gradients.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Claims to have 'signed with multiple legitimate IP libraries' and 'exclusive adaptation rights,' yet cannot provide verifiable authorization agreements, copyright registrations, or proof of cooperation with IP holders.
• 🚩 Collections are processed via personal WeChat, Alipay, or personal bank cards, refusing corporate bank transfers, refusing to issue invoices, and refusing to sign formal commissioned creation contracts.
• 🚩 Earnings screenshots, playback data, and sample reels displayed cannot be supported with direct work links or backend raw data, suspected of stealing other people's AI works as filler.
• 🚩 Creates a sense of urgency using phrases like 'limited slots,' 'deadline this week,' and 'IP holders lined up for scheduling,' urging same-day transfers to lock in slots.
• 🚩 Extremely short company registration history with virtual affiliated addresses; historical content on social media accounts does not match purported years of industry experience.
• 🚩 Delivery standards, breach of contract liabilities, and refund terms in contracts are entirely vague, while clauses penalizing the client's breach are written extremely harshly.
• 🚩 The same team frequently changes brand names and re-registers accounts on new platforms, with numerous complaint records regarding the former entity searchable online.

真实案例

• In April 2026, Mr. Yan in Hubei was charged 59,800 yuan by a network company in Jinan under the guise of a 'regional agency' to purchase an AI comic drama production system. The company promised 2 to 3 comic dramas could be made daily, yielding at least 3,000 to 5,000 yuan per work. The delivered 'self-developed system' was actually a public tool accessible via simple top-ups, and the promised earnings failed to materialize. This case was publicly reported by media outlets including Qilu Evening News.
• According to a report by CNR on March 15, 2026, a merchant named Liu Dong felt hopeful after viewing promotional videos for 'AI automated live-stream sales' and paid 9,510 yuan to Guangzhou Qingzhou Intelligent Information Co., Ltd. Subsequent services severely mismatched promises and results fell through after payment. This case was an on-site investigative public report by CNR journalists.
• According to an exposé report reposted on Baijiahao, series complaints disclosed in July 2026 revealed that AI comic drama monetization scams laid traps ranging from 9.9 yuan introductory classes to tens of thousands of yuan in franchise and production fees. Multiple payers discovered after settling production or authorization fees that the so-called 'exclusive system' was actually public resources, and the companies made refund demands futile by stalling deliveries and kicking users out of chat groups.

Official Stance

• On February 11, 2026, the National Copyright Administration, alongside the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, launched the 'Sword Net 2026' special campaign. Focusing on rectifying piracy and infringement in films, micro-dramas, and AI-generated content, official briefings explicitly stated that AI-generated content transactions have become a regulatory focus.
• Effective January 1, 2026, the National Radio and Television Administration launched a one-month nationwide special rectification campaign against chaotic video dissemination trends involving 'AI malicious edits,' targeting illegal and infringing adaptations via AI technology, signaling strict regulatory oversight in anime adaptation.
• On March 15, 2026, CNR released an investigative report on chaotic training trends in 'AI automated live-stream sales,' publicly exposing Guangzhou Qingzhou Intelligent Information Co., Ltd. under the headline 'The Harvesting Trap Behind Ten Thousand Yuan 'Effortless Earnings' Promises' for failing to fulfill commitments after collecting fees, serving as a consumer warning from an authoritative media outlet.
• In July 2026, the 'Woodpecker Consumer Complaints' column of Qilu Evening News, in partnership with related media, published a series of exposés on AI comic drama training schemes, issuing consumer warnings against fraudulent models charging exorbitant fees under the guise of AI comic drama production, franchising, and authorization.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Verify entity qualifications before paying: Use the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System to check company registration dates, operational anomalies, litigation records, and administrative penalties. Abandon cooperation immediately if registered for less than a year or using a virtual address, and match copyright registration numbers with contracting entities one by one—do not pay if any link in the chain is missing.
• ✅ Require the counterpart to present a verifiable IP authorization chain: Authorization agreements, copyright registration certificates, and original material drafts are all mandatory. Verbal claims of 'exclusive authorization' are treated as invalid.
• ✅ Insist on corporate bank transfers, formal commission contracts, and invoices: Contracts must explicitly detail delivery deadlines, acceptance standards, breach liabilities, and refund conditions. Reject all personal collection QR codes.
• ✅ Verify originals for sample reels and earnings: Require real work links, backend playback data screenshots, and video call verification. Rings using stolen sample reels will automatically expose themselves at this stage.
• ✅ Conduct small-scale test orders to confirm delivery capabilities: Initial cooperation should be limited to single test orders worth a few hundred yuan with phased payment terms, without blindly paying tens of thousands in advance deposits due to 'tight scheduling.'
• ✅ Retain all evidence: Complete records of chat histories, transfer vouchers, promotional screenshots, and original contracts must be preserved. Report anomalies immediately by dialing 12315 or contacting public security authorities, and report traffic-driving accounts to short-form video platforms.