In recent years, with the gradual rise of the cultural toy market, some illegal elements have taken advantage of the situation and used "cultural toy auctions" as a gimmick to weave a vicious network of pyramid schemes. Recently, the Economic Investigation Brigade of Yanling County Public Security Bureau in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province successfully dismantled an online pyramid scheme organization disguised as a cultural and artistic auction, involving more than 50000 people nationwide and a total amount of over 10 billion yuan. When you see the promotion of "zero investment, steady profit" on chat groups and social media platforms, and learn that bidding on low-priced cultural toys and reselling them to others can make money, will you gladly enter the market? Some pyramid schemes take advantage of people's interest and investment psychology in cultural toys, promote and advertise through new media, carefully design hierarchical compensation mechanisms, attract a large number of participants, and step by step fall into the trap of pyramid schemes. At first, I thought I could easily earn some pocket money. My friend told me that all I needed to do was report my name on my phone and operate the website a few times a day When participant Li reported the case to the public security organ, his face was filled with regret. Recalling how he gradually fell into the quagmire of the "cultural and artistic auction" pyramid scheme, his heart was filled with mixed emotions. In January 2023, through a link sent by a friend, Li entered an online platform called "Wenwan Auction". The platform claims that wealth can be quickly accumulated through transactions, and when Li saw his friends receiving income every now and then, he couldn't help but get involved. He registered as a member with a friend's referral code and joined his team as a direct downline. The strict hierarchical structure and attractive commission mechanism make Li a part of this online pyramid scheme organization chain. Driven by profit, he recommended the platform to more friends, and whenever a new member joined, he could receive a referral commission fee. How to make money through the "cultural game auction" platform when layers of tricks have no return on investment? Li told the police that the platform is like an online shopping mall, with various antique goods such as calligraphy, painting, bracelets, etc., which can be traded from Monday to Friday and need to be resold through "auction" to earn the price difference. On the day before the auction, rush to register and put up for sale the next day. The price will increase by 4% compared to the purchase price, and members will receive a 1.5% premium profit. The remaining 2.5% will be submitted in stages. The platform's products are sold through a chain of buying and selling among members, with a circular trading process. Do the so-called cultural and artistic products really exist? Li stated that he has never received antiques, calligraphy, paintings, bracelets, or other goods, and he does not understand their true value. He has no intention of investing or collecting, but just wants to make some money along with them. As long as the product is selected on the platform and added to the shopping cart, payment is made according to the pricing, and the account information of the product holder can be seen. After point-to-point transfer, the screenshot is uploaded to the platform, and the transaction is completed. At the beginning, Li did make some income and tasted the sweetness, but as he invested more and more "bets", by the time the platform collapsed, his and his friends' actual losses had reached three to four hundred thousand yuan. Obviously, there was no actual delivery of goods during the transaction process. The routine of the "cultural toy auction" pyramid scheme organization is to build an online mall and sell low-priced and low-quality cultural toys as "prop" products, and members make profits by repeatedly buying and selling products. With the continuous increase in the number of members, the prices of goods have also skyrocketed. However, these high priced products do not have a real market demand and only circulate in a closed pyramid scheme network. When the joining speed of new members slows down until the funding chain breaks, the platform system will crash, resulting in a large number of members losing everything. After receiving the report, the economic investigation police quickly organized data collection, analysis and judgment, and personnel verification to gradually depict the structure of the criminal organization. Eventually, the pyramid scheme criminal gang led by Fang gradually surfaced. From July to September 2023, Zhuzhou police captured 20 suspect including Fang. After investigation, it was found that Fang, together with others, set up a "cultural toy auction" online pyramid scheme platform overseas from September 2022 to July 2023. The platform promoted and publicized through new media, conducted member training through online training, and sold low-priced and low-quality cultural toys as "props" online for auction and resale activities. Participants must first log in to the website through the recommendation of old members, register an account, bind social media accounts, bank cards, etc. Old members can add them to the corresponding chat group, and new members can bid for "props" within the specified time. The next day, new members will pay a 4% premium on the purchased "props" and resell them by paying 2.5% of the original product price as a "listing fee" to the platform. After successful resale, they will become formal members. The organization takes advantage of members' expectations for profit from reselling goods and their passive desire to sell, requiring members to develop other members to join and form a relationship between upper and lower levels. At the same time, the rewards paid to upper level members based on the performance of lower level member stores are used to drive members to develop other personnel. The entire chain has no real consumer demand and is deceptive. The platform has set up auction rules, with a 4% increase in each product auction, of which 2.5% is the "listing fee" owned by the platform. Members earn 1.5% of the original price of the product as "resale profit", and can also earn "direct promotion profit" by recommending new members. After upgrading to a store manager, they can also receive a "store management award". 0.3% to 0.8% of the daily revenue of all stores on the platform flows into the hands of top-level store managers such as Fang under the name of "technical service fee". In November 2024, the Economic Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security deployed national public security economic investigation departments to carry out cluster warfare and extended strikes based on this case, further destroying this pyramid scheme network. In December, 13 suspect including Fang were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment and fine by the People's Court of Yanling County, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province for organizing and leading pyramid selling activities. The police reminded that with the development of the Internet, pyramid selling crimes have gradually changed from offline to online, and through virtual online transactions, complex hierarchical relationships and interest chains have been constructed. The individuals involved in the case directly or indirectly developed downlines, formed hierarchical structures, and profited from them, disrupting the order of the market economy and causing significant loss of personnel and assets. For so-called investment activities that do not conform to market rules, such as paying "entry fees" and "membership fees" first, and then earning commissions, commissions, and unlimited appreciation of products through attracting people, it is necessary to remain highly vigilant and avoid causing property losses. (New Society)