Use your real identity to claim discounts — don’t register fake accounts or exploit loopholes to get more

8. Use your real identity to claim discounts — don’t register fake accounts or exploit loopholes to get more

Cost: There is no cost involved. You simply avoid taking part in “coupon‑hunting groups” and stay away from any platform loopholes. The hard part is resisting the urge to treat these discounts as a repeatable source of income.

In plain terms: Using your own real identity and one account to claim a discount is perfectly fine. Creating multiple fake accounts or placing orders yourself just to get extra coupons is considered fraud. If you defraud someone out of 3,000 yuan or more, you can be sentenced to up to three years in prison; amounts over 30,000 yuan bring penalties of three to ten years. In one case, delivery workers bought virtual phone numbers for just 0.1 yuan each, used them to claim coupons, and together generated over 90,000 yuan in illicit gains; twelve people involved received sentences ranging from three years and six months to three months of detention. Additionally, one individual managed to obtain 29 yuan in discounts through such means.

Benefit: Defrauding others or the state of money is punishable by up to three years in prison plus a fine when the amount is relatively small. Larger sums or aggravating circumstances raise the sentence to three‑to‑ten years, and extremely large amounts can lead to more than ten years or even life imprisonment, along with heavy fines or asset confiscation. Each province sets its own thresholds: “relatively small” means 3,000–10,000 yuan; “large” is 30,000–100,000 yuan; “extremely large” starts at 500,000 yuan. Teaching or selling methods for fraud carries a maximum five‑year sentence, with harsher penalties for serious cases. Buying or selling phone numbers and verification codes is a violation of personal‑information laws, punishable by up to seven years in prison. Automated systems for mass account creation or SMS verification are expressly banned under anti‑telecom‑fraud statutes. Illegal trading or lending of phone cards and online accounts also incurs fines of one‑to‑ten times any illicit profit; if no profit is made, fines can reach 500,000 yuan, and repeat offenders may face up to fifteen days of detention. Those who take part in telecom fraud but do not meet criminal thresholds can still be detained for ten‑to‑fifteen days and fined up to 100,000 yuan. Official cases illustrate these rules: delivery workers who bought cheap virtual numbers to claim discounts and resell goods were sentenced to three years and six months to three months of detention; another individual who exploited refund loopholes to obtain collectibles received three years of probation plus a 30,000‑yuan fine; a group that abused new‑user coupons across nineteen provinces was prosecuted, with several leaders receiving three‑year‑and‑six‑month sentences. One offender managed to secure 1156 yuan in illicit gains, while another obtained 224 yuan through similar tactics. Furthermore, a third individual was found to have earned 249,000 yuan, and a fourth secured 330,000 yuan via fraudulent means. In yet another instance, a person obtained 70 yuan in unauthorized discounts, and another managed to gain 2,000,000 yuan through such actions. Finally, one individual succeeded in acquiring 163 yuan, and another secured 34 yuan in illicit profits.

Evidence grade: A

Sources: National People's Congress (2020). Criminal Law (Amended in accordance with the Criminal Law Amendment (11), Article 253-1, Article 266, Article 295). <https://jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925/index.html> (Reprinted by Beijing Municipal Public Security and Traffic Management Bureau); Supreme People's Court of China, Supreme People's Procuratorate of China (2011). Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Fraud (Fa Interpretation [2011] No. 7, Article 1). <https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/sfjs/201802/t20180201_363736.shtml>; Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (2022). Anti-Telecom Internet Fraud Law (14, 31, 38, 42, 44). <https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202209/t20220902_575631.shtml>; National People’s Congress (2020). Civil Code (Article 985). <https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml>; Supreme People's Procuratorate of China (2021). Targeting telecom network fraud | Criminals focus on loopholes in the e-commerce economy (Procuratorate Daily). <https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/zdgz/202106/t20210607_520557.shtml>; Supreme People's Procuratorate of China (2025). Such "harvesting" is suspected of fraud (Procuratorate Daily). <https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/zdgz/202508/t20250826_704625.shtml>; Supreme People's Procuratorate of China (2024). Longcheng District, Chaoyang, Liaoning: Handling a series of telecommunications network fraud cases (Rule of Law Daily). <https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/zdgz/202401/t20240124_641099.shtml>

Notes: The key distinction is not how much you obtain, but whether you create false identities. Using your own real identity, one account per promotion, and applying the discount to yourself is perfectly allowed. Registering fake users, fabricating transactions, or concealing prior refunds to trick a platform into granting extra discounts is classified as fraud; the monetary amount only determines the length of the sentence. Even if the sum is below the criminal threshold, platforms may still ban accounts, revoke discounts, and demand repayment. Mere participation in telecom‑fraud schemes, even without meeting criminal criteria, can result in detention and fines. Being guided by others or paid per transaction does not change the nature of your own actions. Teaching fraud techniques or selling accounts and phone numbers are separate offenses that are punished cumulatively.