AI Comic Video Production System Franchise Scam: Selling Public Tools for Tens of Thousands of Yuan, Disappearing After Promising Daily Earnings of 1,000 Yuan

Who Gets Targeted

The victims are primarily young people aged 18 to 35, including recent college graduates, office workers looking for side hustles, stay-at-home mothers, and micro-entrepreneurs. Their shared psychological vulnerabilities are anxiety over income growth combined with a lack of common sense regarding video production and copyright industries. They are hooked by pitches promising daily earnings of 1,000 yuan, producing two to three videos a day, and earning passive income with zero foundation. Scammers deliberately create a sense of urgency by claiming limited quotas and a fleeting trend window, exploiting victims' fascination with AI technology and FOMO (fear of missing out). They first filter willing payers with a low-cost 9.9 yuan introductory class, then escalate step-by-step to induce them to pay thousands to tens of thousands of yuan in system fees, franchise fees, or even loans. Once victims realize the so-called system is just a shell over public tools, it is impossible to get a refund from the scammers.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Casting a net via short video traffic campaigns. Companies run ads on platforms like Douyin featuring get-rich-quick success stories of AI comic video production, claiming their self-developed system integrates major models, can produce two to three videos a day, and makes earning 1,000 yuan a day a reality. They use 9.9 yuan or 19.9 yuan low-cost trial classes as hooks to filter high-intent target customers, emphasizing pitches that the trend dividend period will never return once missed.
• Step 2: Brainwashing and dream-weaving via live streaming. After funneling users into private live streams or chat groups, the so-called lecturers showcase forged earnings screenshots and student transfer records, claiming that users can learn everything in three days with zero foundation, platform traffic support, and proactive orders from copyright holders. They fabricate artificial scarcity by claiming only the last ten franchise slots remain, urging instant payment to lock in qualifications.
• Step 3: Selling high-priced shell systems. After victims pay system or franchise fees ranging from 3,980 yuan to tens of thousands of yuan, they receive a simple shell interface bundling public AI drawing and text-to-video tools available on the market. Top-up quotas are actually normal paid functions of public platforms, with costs amounting to less than one-tenth of the selling price, and the claimed exclusive technology simply does not exist.
• Step 4: Delaying, deflecting, and draining resources. When victims find they cannot produce profitable comic videos and the promises of receiving orders cannot be fulfilled, customer service delays them with excuses such as long IP authorization processes, copyright holder review queues, or insufficient account weight. At the same time, they continue to push advanced courses and so-called exclusive IP authorization fees for secondary harvesting, further draining funds.
• Step 5: Closing shops, losing contact, and running away. When complaints accumulate to a certain scale, the company cancels the original entity or re-registers under a new name with a different front. The original customer service WeChat accounts are deactivated, and office spaces are vacated. When victims attempt to assert their rights, they find the contract entity has lost contact, and the previous sales representatives claim they were just employees and bear no responsibility, making the recovery of funds extremely difficult.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Yield promises that clearly violate industry common sense, such as claiming daily earnings of 1,000 yuan or updating two to three videos a day with zero foundation, backed only by screenshots and oral descriptions without verifiable platform backend data or authentic signed copyright contracts.
• 🚩 A crudely designed interface for the so-called self-developed system that is highly similar in core functions to public AI drawing and text-to-video tools, requiring advance top-ups to use, with funds flowing into personal accounts or shell companies inconsistent with promotional claims.
• 🚩 Creating an urgent atmosphere before payment, such as claiming limited slots or price hikes tonight, denying a cooling-off period, urging instant transfers, and even inducing victims to scrape together money using platforms like Huabei, Jiebei, or online loans.
• 🚩 The recipient entity of funds does not match the company advertised; be wary of internet technology companies that frequently change their corporate fronts, fail to provide regular invoices upon signing, and have contract terms that are vague regarding delivery standards and refund conditions, or include total disclaimers of liability.
• 🚩 Promising full-chain services including IP authorization, platform distribution, and minimum guaranteed returns, while evasively dodging or changing the subject when asked for specific copyright holder names, sample authorization agreements, and revenue-sharing settlement vouchers.

真实案例

• On April 28, 2026, Mr. Yan saw an ad on a short video platform promoted by a certain Zhou Network Technology Company regarding an AI comic video production system. The company claimed it invested heavily to research and integrate an integrated system across major models capable of producing two to three videos a day. After paying, Mr. Yan discovered that the so-called self-developed system was actually public resources accessible simply by topping up money, and the promised earnings were completely unfulfillable. This case was exposed and reported by media on July 17, 2026.
• Statistical reports released by the Sichuan Consumers Protection Commission showed that throughout 2025, complaints related to AI+ training reached 3,739 cases, a year-on-year increase of 2.21%. Peng Ou, director of the complaints department, told the Science and Technology Daily that young groups accounted for a high proportion of victims, with a large number of cases involving false advertising, induced borrowing, and impossible refunds.
• An investigative report by Science and Technology Daily on March 17, 2026, exposed how certain AI+ training institutions custom-built scam networks for young people, harvesting them layer by layer from 9.9 yuan training classes to tens of thousands of yuan in franchise fees. Victims not only lost tuition fees but were also induced to take out installment loans, and refund channels were completely cut off after complaints were filed.

Official Stance

• On February 11, 2026, four departments—the National Copyright Administration, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate—jointly launched the 'Sword Net 2026' special action, focusing on rectifying piracy and related copyright infringement chaos in the fields of movies, micro-dramas, and AI-generated content.
• Starting January 1, 2026, the National Radio and Television Administration carried out a one-month nationwide special rectification campaign against the chaotic spread of AI-remixed videos, clearing out shoddy and falsely disseminated content under the guise of AI to compress the space for grey-market monetization.
• In March 2026, the Sichuan Consumers Protection Commission released special statistics and public warnings regarding AI+ training complaints, calling out four major problems: false advertising, customized hunting, induced borrowing, and refund dead ends, reminding young consumers to be wary of high franchise fee traps.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before making any payment, check the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System to review the company's establishment date, litigation records, and administrative penalties, while also checking paid-in capital and abnormal business operation status. Directly rule out companies established for less than a year that claim to have invested heavily in research and development for self-developed systems.
• ✅ Demand that the other party demonstrate the system's underlying capabilities on the spot and compare them with mainstream public AI tools. Do not pay for anything that requires advance top-ups to experience or refuses to provide a trial account.
• ✅ Treat all training and franchise projects that promise guaranteed returns, daily earnings of 1,000 yuan, or bundled IP authorization and distribution as high-risk. Legitimate vocational education never promises specific income figures.
• ✅ Insist on corporate-to-corporate transfers and request regular invoices and written contracts, specifying delivery checklists, acceptance criteria, and refund terms. Set a cooling-off period of at least 72 hours before payment and reject any form of loan-assisted payment.
• ✅ Once you realize you have been scammed, immediately save chat records, transfer receipts, and contracts. File complaints through the national 12315 platform, report the case to public security organs, and simultaneously report the involved advertising accounts on short video platforms to cut off their traffic funnels.