Five people were arrested for China's first Internet get-rich-quick scam, involving 234 million yuan (US$28.25 million), as is reported August 8.
Lin Jiexiong and Zhang Guiling were trying to withdraw money from a bank in Guangzhou and were carrying 360,000 yuan (US$43,000) on July 5 when police took them into custody, and three others were arrested on the same day.
Through a front company called Shenlong Shuma, or "Digital Dragon", the group told people they could earn money by clicking on advertisements on the company's website if they first bought a membership card for 380 yuan (US$46).
They told members they could earn 0.3 yuan (US$0.036) by clicking once on an advertisement and that they could only click 33 times in one day.
At its height, Shenlong Shuma shipped 10,000-30,000 cards daily in 30 provinces and cities.
Police grew suspicious of the firm when it took in one million yuan (US$120,000) in revenue a day, which it claimed was revenue for placing advertisements for third parties.
After seizing assets and shutting down offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Henan province, police concluded that Shenlong Shuma had no way of recording the clicks on its website.
(China Daily 08/09/2001)
