Pyramid schemes tip of the cy-berg

• Source: The Global Times
• [08:05 May 21 2009]
• Comments

By Cong Mu

Much more than a means of communication and the dissemination of information, the Internet in China is emerging as an invaluable tool for expressing grievances and denouncing illegal activities.

From the search for missing persons to the dismantling of pyramid schemes – into which many people are unwittingly drawn in their search for overnight fortune – the Web has trapped many unsuspecting surfers while also helping law enforcement.

The Internet has saved many unsuspecting citizens from exploitation and served to put pressure on local officials to take action and shut down illegal schemes.

“Even on our way home, she still kept saying that she would be able to buy a villa soon,” said Li Qin, who resorted to the Internet to help rescue her trapped niece from an illegal cross-provincial pyramid-scheme organization last week.

Earlier this month, Li’s niece, who wished to remain anonymous, was enticed by a former colleague to run away from her hometown in Shanxi Province and join a pyramid scheme in Panjin, Liaoning Province. She made phone calls to her parents to ask for money but wouldn’t tell them where she was.

After receiving a request from Li through an online forum, the Liaoning Provincial Anti-Pyramid Scheme Office (APSO) immediately requested the local police in Panjin destroy the pyramid network. On the evening of May 13, police swept the network and rescued Li’s niece, trapped and brainwashed, reports said.

Web users hailed the case as an example of successful interaction between the Internet and the government, demonstrating an increasing public supervision online in China.