Renewed bid to root out scammers welcome

FIVE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DETAINED for their involvement in the death of a 23-year-old university graduate, who was found dead in a pond in Tianjin's Jinghai district last month, after reportedly falling victim to a fake job advertisement and being tricked into a pyramid scheme. Beijing News commented on Tuesday:

On the same day the college graduate died another 25-year-old lost his life in Jinghai, which is home to criminal networks that take advantage of ill-informed and naive job seekers who respond to fake job advertisements, then employ every possible trick - such as brainwashing, swindling, beating and detaining - to force them to prey on other prospective victims.

A fraudulent employment advertisement published on Zhipin, a popular recruitment website, lured the 23-year-old graduate to Jinghai on May 20. He was not alone in falling for such scams. Last year the Cyberspace Administration of China shut down 16 recruitment websites in a campaign targeting illegal activities related to recruitment websites, from fake job offers to pyramid promotions.