In recent years, "private domain" live broadcasts have "hunting" the elderly, and there are many difficulties in protecting their rights, which has attracted social attention. The reporter's investigation found that criminals attracted the elderly from offline stores or short video platforms to secret live broadcast rooms through "health lectures" and "expert free medical consultations", bypassing traditional supervision, and forming a closed-loop fraud chain with strong concealment and difficulty in holding them accountable. Illegal merchants use "private domain" live broadcasts, which target users through WeChat, mini programs and other channels, and use methods such as "log out after broadcasting", "dissolving groups", and "replacing platforms" to destroy evidence, evade supervision, and create a "secret corner" of fraud.

  Brainwashing-style induction "entering the group to receive benefits"

  Aunt Li, who lives in a city in Jilin Province, is 66 years old this year. She showed reporters the products she bought recently in the live broadcast room and offline health lectures, including more than 30 bottles of health products, which cost about 7,000 yuan; ten boxes of sea cucumbers, which cost 20,000 yuan... "Enter the group to receive red envelopes, and then listen to the teacher's lecture, saying that these things can regulate the body and prevent any disease. I see that there are many people buying them, so I gritted my teeth and bought them." Aunt Li said that although her pension is only more than 2,000 yuan a month, these things are good for the body, "It's better than sending money to the hospital when I get sick."

  At 3:10 pm every day, Aunt Li clicks on the live broadcast link in the WeChat group chat on time. After several redirects, a live broadcast called "H8 People's Station" is underway. A man who claims to be Director Yang of a space hall is vigorously promoting a "space shoes": "The shoes are implanted with titanium nuclear magnetic chips, which can release hundreds of millions of titanium nuclear magnetic energy waves every day to protect our feet..."

  Since last year, Aunt Li has purchased health care products and daily necessities of all sizes online and offline, with a total price of tens of thousands of yuan. However, she didn't know that she was being hunted by a live broadcast on "private domain".

  The reporter's investigation found that most of this kind of scam is under the guise of "free physical examinations" and "health lectures". It accurately locks the elderly group through online courses, offline stores, community activities and other scenarios, and achieves community fission by means of "recruiting people for eggs" and "continuous listening to classes and receiving red envelopes", which in turn induces the elderly to purchase high-priced drugs and health products, and even induces the elderly to "enter people into the group" and become "salesmen" in the fraud chain.

  Aunt Li told reporters that on the way home from buying vegetables, someone gave her an address and said she could go and get free eggs. She came to a nearby store called "Yi Fenli Fresh Supermarket" according to the address. After receiving a few eggs, she scanned the code to join the WeChat group according to the owner's request. Most of the elderly are in the group with hundreds of people. The group owners share live links in the group every day. As long as they watch the live broadcast and answer questions, they can get points, coupons, and red envelopes. Points and coupons can be used to purchase items in the supermarket or online live room. What is different from ordinary supermarkets is that there are neither beverages, snacks, nor breads and milk in the store, but there are many health foods or small household appliances such as thermos cups and electric pancakes.

  The reporter's investigation found that these communities seem random but are actually well organized. Some elderly people who enter the "private domain" live broadcast through online channels will also be "taken by" "one-on-one" dedicated people.

  Ms. Wang, who lives in a provincial capital in the north, recently discovered that the elderly at home receive video calls every day. "I noticed that the other party was very kind. He said hello to the elderly, asked about their physical condition and praised them every day." Ms. Wang said that one day he heard the other party tell the elderly that he had applied for an opportunity for one-on-one consultation by experts. After asking in detail, he realized that his family had encountered a scam. The reporter's investigation found that in the "private domain" live broadcast room with the theme of "health science popularization", illegal merchants often exaggerate the product's efficacy, and even fabricate the efficacy of "anti-cancer" and "life-extending" to sell health products at a price several times higher than similar products.

  Ms. Wang’s family accidentally added the anchor’s WeChat and entered a specific WeChat group. Since then, they checked in and watched courses and live broadcasts in the group every day, and the content is related to health care. After some courses, you will jump to the web page and mini programs and answer three related questions. If you answer correctly, you will get a reward of a few cents. "It is to judge whether the customer is 'mature' through answering and community performance, and he can cheat." An interviewee told reporters that after his parents purchased the "sky-high" health products in the live broadcast room, they even stopped using regular drugs, "completely brainwashed."

  The "hunting system" behind the fraud chain

  Many experts said that "private domain" live broadcast scams often accurately grasp the characteristics of the elderly's emotional emptiness, desire for health, and large information gaps, and build a "hunting system".

  The first is to accurately lock in the target users and establish a closed "trust circle". The target group for "private domain" live broadcasts is usually the elderly, especially those living alone, who are more likely to be deceived. Through "free health lectures", "free medical consultations from experts", "live broadcasts to receive benefits", criminals screen elderly people who are interested in specific topics such as health and health, and have psychological and emotional needs to take advantage of them. In order to establish trust and special emotional links, the so-called "anchor" of "private domain" live broadcasts often call the audience "uncles and aunts" or even "fathers and mothers", conducting high-frequency interactions to narrow the psychological distance with the elderly; cultivating user dependence through emotional output, interactive Q&A, check-in and answering questions, etc., reducing vigilance, and laying the foundation for selling high-priced products. The daughter of a victim said, "My mother was coaxed so much that she didn't listen to her family's advice at all, and she felt that the anchor really cared about her."

  The second is to pull the target users from the "public domain" to the "private domain" and use technical means to evade supervision. Relevant experts pointed out that "private domain" live broadcasts mostly use third-party tools, self-built mini programs and encrypted links to pull the target group from "public domain" such as short video platforms into "private domain", which bypasses the keyword monitoring and qualification review of mainstream platforms. External supervision is difficult to monitor in real time, resulting in arbitrary exaggeration and false propaganda flooding, and the live broadcast content is not easy to retain, and it is difficult to fix evidence. Some "private domain" live broadcast technology service providers review the qualifications of companies that have settled in are formal, and even acquiesced to violations, and the platform has become a "accomplice" of fraud. Some live broadcast systems also have functions such as "one-click switching accounts" and "multi-room concurrency", which facilitates quick change of live broadcast positions after the account is blocked.

  Finally, it is through the fission of acquaintances and uses social attributes to strengthen the fraud effect. "Private Domain" live broadcasts rely on users to actively share, such as inviting friends to help and fission rewards. This communication model is used by scammers to build a chain similar to pyramid schemes. Through mechanisms such as obtaining rebates and sharing lottery, users are encouraged to attract people to watch, forming viral transmission. Experts pointed out that some criminals have also created false popularity through various means, such as swiping barrage through robot accounts, forging likes and comments, and operating orders in the background, creating the illusion of "popularity" in the live broadcast room, and inducing viewers to blindly follow the trend to consume.

  We should work together to eliminate the "gray zone" of live broadcast

  During the investigation, many victims and their families reported that it was very difficult to protect their rights after encountering scams in the "private domain" live broadcast field. Many online live broadcast companies are outside the country. When complaining and reporting to the local market supervision department, they will be told that they do not have cross-regional jurisdiction and can only inspect physical stores or business entities within the domain. Since the "private domain" live broadcast does not have physical store information, you will also encounter situations where you cannot register during the complaint process.

  The lawyer interviewed believes that consumers are usually asked to provide complete evidence or specific clues whether they are complaining to the regulatory authorities or protecting their rights through legal means. The "private domain" live broadcast "change one link at a time" model has increased the difficulty of consumers to collect evidence. A promoter of the "private domain" platform told reporters that the "private domain" link is only valid when it is shared with others, and it is difficult for regulatory authorities to monitor it.

  It is difficult to supervise, investigate and deal with, and recover losses even more difficult. Li Hongbo, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, said that in the "private domain" live broadcast, the platform often regards itself as a "technical service provider" and evades sales responsibilities. The platform's legal responsibilities are unclear, which leads to consumers' rights protection often falling into the dilemma of "the platform is circulating the blame and the merchant disappears."

  Market supervision departments said that most elderly people are not familiar with new consumption forms such as "private domain" live broadcasts, cannot find a channel for rights protection when encountering product problems, or are discouraged due to the complex rules for online rights protection, resulting in "many people who are deceived and few people who complain."

  Faced with the problem that "private domain" live broadcast has become a severely affected area of ​​"separation of old age", many experts said that measures need to be implemented in terms of technology, supervision, social care, etc., so that the "secret corners" have nowhere to hide, and protect the elderly's pension money.

  Experts such as Li Hongbo pointed out that the platform level should clarify the review obligations of the "private domain" live broadcast platform, such as requiring the platform to retain live broadcast videos and monitor illegal content in real time, and the main responsibility for the violation platform should be held accountable. The social level needs to continuously bridge the digital divide and enhance the awareness of fraud prevention for the elderly. By carrying out "anti-fraud classroom" and other activities in the community, use cases to expose live fraud routines.

  Han Bing, a lawyer at Beijing Gaodun Law Firm, suggested that the elderly and their children should have a sense of rights protection. Once they are found to be cheated, they should save the evidence immediately, take screenshots and report or report the case. It is also recommended to strengthen and improve corresponding laws and regulations. The Internet is not a lawless place, and the "private domain" live broadcast field is not even more so. Gray areas that infringe on the rights and interests of others in all forms should be regulated.

  The Consumer Association recommends that the elderly keep in mind the "three no principles": not joining groups, not transferring money, not be trusted easily, and be vigilant about unfamiliar group chats such as "free benefits". Purchasing items should go to regular shopping malls and supermarkets or large online shopping platforms with credibility.

  (Reporter Duan Xu, Yao Shi, Zhao Dandan, Li Dian, Tang Chengzhuo)

[Editor in charge: Ran Xiaoning]