Many cities are now gradually relaxing their household registration policies. For example, in Shenzhen, people can either queue up to register based on social security points, or directly approve the household registration based on talent introduction. However, some lawless elements have focused on these good policies and made crooked ideas. Not long ago, the Shenzhen police busted a fraud gang that used the pretense of applying for professional titles and settling in to enroll in school, arresting 51 suspects and involving more than 10 million yuan.
Mr. Zhang, who works in Shenzhen, urgently needs Shenzhen household registration because his daughter has transferred to another school. However, according to the points registration method, Mr. Zhang's ranking is relatively low, and he will not be able to fall behind for a while. If the talent introduction is adopted, and his academic qualifications are not enough, he still needs to obtain an intermediate professional title or above to meet the supporting policy requirements. At this time, an online educational institution claiming to be specialized in professional title agency and household registration consultation came into Mr. Zhang’s field of vision.
With the promise of "all-inclusive", Mr. Zhang signed the contract and paid the fee at a preferential price of 26,800 yuan without much thought. But when the agreed processing period came, instead of producing the certificate, this organization informed Mr. Zhang that the professional title review policy had been adjusted and that the business could no longer be processed. When Mr. Zhang proposed a full refund, the other party said that only 30% could be refunded, and the remaining 70% would be directly deducted in the name of service fees.
Victim Mr. Zhang: When I went to their company and communicated with him, he said that I could only refund 30% and deduct 70% when I refunded it to you. Then I heard that I thought it was quite ridiculous. I said you were a naked fraud.
The same trap also fell on citizen Mr. Li. Mr. Li came across agency advertisements on the short video platform. He made a special trip to the offline store to learn about it on the spot and was moved by the staff's marketing rhetoric. He paid a total of 72,000 yuan to apply for the professional title registration business.
Victim Mr. Li: Before signing up, they promised that they would not be able to get a full refund. When I asked for a refund later, they said it would be based on the contract. I said you send me the contract, and he adjusted the corresponding terms in the background, saying that if there was a refund, an 8,000 yuan would be deducted and 5% of the remaining amount would be refunded. The salesperson has been replaced. Staff turnover is rapid. Maybe this person is chatting with you now, but if you talk to him next month, he won’t know what he talked to you before.
The experiences of the two victims exposed the same standardized fraud routine of this educational institution. During the signing process, the staff will try every means to guide the victim to sign quickly, deliberately weakening the legal effect and risks of the contract.
In fact, the contract signed between this educational institution and the victim only generally stated "consulting and guidance services". It neither specified the specific service content such as paper publication, data declaration, review docking, etc., nor did it have clear refund rules and service standards, which paved the way for subsequent refusals to refund and malicious deductions. After receiving the report from the masses, the Futian Branch of the Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau conducted a joint study and judgment on the case.
Zhang Yan, a police officer from the case team of the Huaqiangbei Police Station of the Futian Branch of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau: The contents of the public alarms all reflected that during the process of applying for agency titles, the company did not provide services for them, but afterwards they used delaying methods to refuse refunds.
Police investigation confirmed that the agency's main business of house registration agency for professional titles was purely false propaganda. According to Shenzhen's professional title review and household registration policy, applying for an intermediate professional title requires meeting hard conditions such as years of experience in the corresponding industry and holding a pre-qualification certificate. However, most of the customers recruited by the institutions involved did not meet the standards, and the agency business was simply impossible to achieve from the source.
Zhang Yan, a police officer from the case team of Huaqiangbei Police Station, Futian Branch of Shenzhen Public Security Bureau: These customers themselves do not meet the conditions required by the policy, so they are destined to have no way to successfully obtain their professional titles during the process. At the same time, the company has not had any successful cases in the professional title registration process since 2023.
In order to recruit customers in batches, the gang has established an integrated online and offline drainage system: every time the school starts, they take advantage of parents' anxiety and use "limited quotas, expedited processing" and other tactics to urge the parties to quickly pay money and sign contracts.
Zhang Yan, a police officer from the case team of Huaqiangbei Police Station, Futian Branch of Shenzhen Public Security Bureau: In fact, during the contract signing process, these salespeople may promote to these customer groups that we can basically guarantee a high pass rate in the first year. And if you are really worried, we will continue to serve you for free in the second year. If you are not successful in the second year, we can also refund you.
The police found out that the fraud gang has a mature organizational system and has branches in many places across the country. Fraud gangs implement high-pressure performance appraisals, and sales staff are eliminated at the bottom and are highly mobile. The promises made before and after are not connected at all, which also makes it more difficult for victims to defend their rights. After comprehensively fixing the evidence and figuring out the organizational structure of the gang, on July 15 this year, Shenzhen Futian police launched simultaneous closing operations in multiple places and implemented arrests.
Chen Yizhen, deputy director of the Huaqiangbei Police Station of the Futian Branch of the Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau: 51 suspects were arrested in one fell swoop, and a large number of evidence involved in the case, including mobile phones, computers, account books, and official seals, were seized at the scene. After preliminary verification, the amount involved in the case reached more than 10 million yuan.
The police reminded that compliance with regulations is the only way to review qualifications and settle government affairs, and shortcuts for speculation are all traps. This case once again warns the public that all kinds of marketing promises of "guaranteeing, agency, and guaranteed settlement" are not in line with the official system and are essentially fraud.
Chen Yizhen, Deputy Director of Huaqiangbei Police Station of Futian Branch of Shenzhen Public Security Bureau: There is a strict and standardized official process for professional title review. There are no so-called internal shortcuts, agents, and guarantees... Everyone must apply for professional titles through official formal channels. Do not believe such false propaganda. If you encounter a similar scam, please call 110 for help as soon as possible.
