Read More《我爸买假古董被骗30万，平台赔我300元代金券》
Positive Comments: Opportunities for Social Awakening and Regulation in the Exposure of the Fake Antique Scam
This report about the elderly being exploited in fake antique live – streaming rooms, although filled with helplessness and sadness, has also torn off the “fig leaf” of the elderly consumption traps in the digital age, sounding multiple alarms for society. From a positive perspective, the publicity and spread of this event are driving progress on three levels:
Firstly, society’s attention to the digital survival dilemma of the elderly has reached a new height. For a long time, discussions about the “silver – haired economy” have mostly focused on market potential, while rarely paying attention to the vulnerability of the elderly in the digital world. In the news, the elderly are precisely targeted by “bargain – hunting for wealth,” “emotional coercion,” and “scripted marketing.” In essence, this exposes both the digital literacy gap and the lack of emotional needs. When children are forced to become “night – watchmen of the live – streaming rooms” and “sorting out fake antique lists at three in the morning” becomes a family norm, the public finally realizes that the elderly are not “digital natives.” Surrounded by algorithms, persuasive language, and traffic, they need social protection rather than exploitation. This awakening of attention provides an public – opinion basis for subsequent policy inclinations, strengthened corporate responsibilities, and public – welfare interventions.
Secondly, the successful practice of the rights – protection case provides a replicable path for similar disputes. In the article, Jiang Yu’s experience of finally recovering 90% of the payment through “cross – regional industrial and commercial complaints + platform pressure + tracing the source of the manufacturer,” although full of hardships, verifies the feasibility of “systematic rights – protection.” Previously, most victims gave up pursuing accountability due to “difficulty in obtaining evidence,” “platform evasion,” and “merchants disappearing.” However, Jiang Yu’s case proves that as long as one organizes complete purchase records, locks in the shipping source, and collaborates with regulatory departments in multiple regions, there is still a chance to recover losses even when facing a hidden counterfeit – selling industrial chain. After this experience is spread by the media, it can provide an action guide for more victimized families and reduce the sense of helplessness caused by “having nowhere to turn for rights – protection.”
Thirdly, the event forces the clarification of regulatory and platform responsibilities. The news repeatedly mentions pain points such as “the platform only compensating with a 300 – yuan voucher” and “the police classifying it as a trading dispute,” which expose the ambiguity in the current rules’ definition of “false advertising” and “emotional marketing.” However, with the concentrated outbreak of such cases, regulatory departments can no longer avoid the precise crackdown on live – streaming counterfeit sales. For example, although the “Measures for the Administration of Online Live – streaming Marketing” in 2024 require platforms to “review qualifications and monitor risks,” there is still a tendency of “emphasizing traffic and neglecting supervision” in implementation. In this event, the operations of fake antique live – streaming rooms to avoid risks through “rotating multiple accounts” and “short – term live – streaming” precisely show that if platforms strengthen “account association identification” and “abnormal transaction monitoring,” they can completely intercept risks in advance. When the public – opinion pressure and the accumulation of cases reach a certain level, the improvement of regulatory details and the refinement of platform responsibilities will become inevitable – this is a crucial step in promoting industry regulation.
Negative Comments: Multiple Crises in the Collusion of the Traffic Economy and Human Weaknesses
However, what is even more worthy of vigilance behind this event is that the industrial chain of “exploiting the elderly” in the digital age has formed a highly professional and hidden operation mode. What it exposes is not only the tragedy of individual families but also the deep – seated crises in social governance, business ethics, and inter – generational relations.
First of all, the “traffic – first” logic of platforms has fueled the spread of the scam. In the news, the detail that “the biggest cost of fake antique live – streaming rooms is buying traffic” reveals the key point: The platform’s precise push of the elderly to such live – streaming rooms through algorithms is essentially a “collusion” for traffic monetization. Although the platform claims that it “cannot identify false advertising,” in fact, content that obviously violates common sense, such as “selling the Horse Head of the Old Summer Palace for 9,999 yuan” and “the anchor being chased and killed,” can be pre – warned through keyword monitoring and user – portrait analysis (such as high – frequency clicks by elderly users). However, driven by the equation of “traffic = income,” platforms are more inclined to tolerate or even promote the spread of such content – after all, the “impulsive consumption” of the elderly can quickly boost the GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume). This short – sighted behavior of “making quick money” not only damages the long – term reputation of the platform but also pushes elderly users into a dangerous situation.
Secondly, the fake antique industrial chain has formed a black closed – loop of “low risk and high return.” As described in the news, the upstream of the industrial chain consists of low – cost handicrafts (such as 38 – yuan brass ornaments on Pinduoduo), the middle – stream is a live – streaming team with “persuasive – language training + script design” (such as “guaranteed authenticity and antiquity,” “high – price recycling,” and “emotional coercion”), and the downstream is a risk – avoidance means of “rotating multiple accounts + shipping from different locations” (such as porcelain produced in Ningde being forwarded from Jingdezhen). Throughout the entire chain, merchants reduce the probability of being held accountable through “short – term live – streaming” and “disappearing after the scam,” conduct secondary exploitation through “appraisal fees” and “deposits,” and increase the cost of rights – protection through “geographical dispersion.” Even more ironically, some elderly people choose to remain silent after discovering they have been scammed due to “fear of being blamed by their children” and “unwillingness to admit mistakes” (a survey by the “Evening News” shows that 56.81% of the elderly dare not claim their rights), further reducing the risk cost of the industrial chain. This “scam and run, then scam again” model is difficult to fundamentally contain without “full – chain crackdown” (such as tracing the traffic providers and freezing abnormal transaction accounts).
Thirdly, there is a “last – mile” gap in the elderly rights – protection mechanism. Although the “Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law” and the “Advertising Law” have clear penalty provisions for “false advertising,” there are still three major obstacles in implementation: Firstly, “difficulty in obtaining evidence” – most elderly people place orders through “oral commitments” and lack written contracts; secondly, “difficulty in definition” – the authenticity of antiques requires professional appraisal, and most elderly people cannot afford the appraisal fees; thirdly, “difficulty in execution” – most merchants are shell companies registered in different regions, and it is difficult to enforce compensation even if the victims win the lawsuit. Jiang Yu’s successful rights – protection in the news is essentially a “breakthrough in an individual case” rather than a systematic solution. Without accidental factors such as “the same manufacturer” and “the intervention of local industrial and commercial departments,” most families would still be in a dilemma of “having nowhere to file a complaint.” This reflects that the rights – protection for the elderly in consumption requires a more simplified process (such as platform pre – compensation), lower appraisal costs (such as public – welfare appraisal services), and a more efficient cross – regional cooperation mechanism.
Finally, the inter – generational trust rift has intensified family conflicts. In the news, the intense conflicts between children and parents over “whether they have been scammed” (such as the father shoving the daughter and refusing to call the police) are essentially an extreme manifestation of the inter – generational cognitive differences in the digital age. The elderly develop an emotional dependence on the anchors due to “loneliness” and “lack of a sense of value” (such as Father Jiang wanting to “turn things around and recover losses” and Father Liu seeking recognition due to family conflicts), while children, with their “information advantage,” are eager to deny their parents’ judgments. The communication between the two sides has fallen into a vicious cycle of “the more you stop me, the more I’ll buy.” A survey by the “China Youth Daily” shows that 69.7% of families have disputes over online shopping, and more than 40% of the elderly trust the anchors more than their children. This transfer of trust not only weakens the family support system but also makes the elderly “willing victims” of the scam. Without repairing inter – generational communication, it is difficult to fundamentally solve the problem with only external intervention.
Advice for Entrepreneurs: Finding a Balance between Business Value and Social Responsibility
Behind this fake antique scam is a fierce collision between “traffic supremacy” and “ethical bottom – line” in the digital economy era. For entrepreneurs, they need to learn lessons from the following three aspects to avoid repeating the same mistakes:
- Beware of business models that “exploit vulnerable groups”: The consumption needs of the elderly are worthy of attention, but one must never design “inductive consumption” by taking advantage of their lack of digital literacy and emotional needs. When designing products or services, entrepreneurs should actively avoid means such as “false advertising,” “emotional coercion,” and “exploitation through information gaps.” For example, for elderly – oriented e – commerce, a “child – confirmation” function (requiring text – message verification from children before placing an order) can be added, or an “anti – scam knowledge base” can be provided, rather than using algorithms to push high – premium counterfeits.
- Empower the protection of the elderly with technology: Entrepreneurs can develop tools around “anti – scam” and “improvement of digital literacy.” For example, develop an “elderly live – streaming assistant” that uses AI to identify sensitive words such as “bargain – hunting” and “high – price recycling” and pop up reminders; or launch a “family – shared account” where children can set consumption limits and view purchase records; they can also cooperate with appraisal institutions to provide a “one – click authenticity verification” service to reduce the decision – making risks of the elderly.
- Focus on the real needs of the elderly rather than “opportunities to exploit”: The elderly often fall into scams because of emotional loneliness and lack of a sense of value (such as Father Jiang wanting to “turn things around and recover losses” and Father Liu seeking recognition due to family conflicts). Entrepreneurs can explore business models of “emotional companionship + knowledge popularization.” For example, open “elderly interest live – streaming rooms” (for calligraphy, gardening, health knowledge) or develop an “inter – generational interaction platform” (where children and parents learn and participate in activities together) to enhance their anti – scam awareness while meeting their emotional needs.
Conclusion:
The essence of the fake antique scam is a fierce collision between “profit – seeking” and “humanistic care” in the digital economy era. It exposes the pain points of lagging supervision, platform dereliction of duty, and inter – generational breakdown, and also provides society with an opportunity to “mend the fold after the sheep have been lost.” For entrepreneurs, the prerequisite for business success is to hold the ethical bottom – line – making “honest money” and “conscientious money” is the way to go more steadily and further.
