Recently, the online skills training market has continued to heat up. Faced with overwhelming promotions for free AI courses online, have you been tempted? Among them, some emerging training fields such as AI-powered short video production and copywriting, using zero cost, high income, guaranteed employment, and big prizes as selling points to attract students, parents, and job seekers, quietly leading them into traps set by illegal businesses.
Recently, Beijing Market Supervision Administration lawfully investigated a typical case of false advertising by a technology company's free AI course live streams, revealing the layers of schemes behind free AI courses:
During routine online inspections, enforcement officers from Beijing Comprehensive Market Supervision Enforcement Corps noticed that a certain technology company's free live courses had hidden agendas. The company's staff first induced users to add WeChat through online advertisements, then pulled them into WeChat groups. Leveraging the concealment of private domain traffic, they quietly conducted irregular marketing, gradually shifting from initial knowledge explanation to promotional marketing - the entire process resembled a "boiling frog" style hunting.
**01 Free Becomes Paid**
"Free AI training camp, teaching you to use AI for side income, zero threshold entry!" Such advertisements moved many people wanting to earn extra money. The defendant, under the banner of "free training," pulled users into live streaming rooms. Initially, teachers indeed shared AI basic operations, from how to use tools to create images to simple copywriting generation, full of practical content, making listeners feel they had "struck gold."
However, halfway through the live stream, the tone quietly changed. "Learning basics alone is useless, you need to learn advanced techniques to make money!" The teacher's tone shifted as they began frequently promoting paid courses. Assistant teachers in the live room also continuously sent messages like "Sign up now for 500 yuan off, only 10 spots left."
Those users dazzled by "high income" confused paid money. The so-called "free course sharing" was merely a brainwashing prelude to paid courses.
**02 "Monthly Income of Ten Thousand" Has a Script**
During inspection, enforcement officers found that so-called "real cases" frequently appeared in the live streaming room. For example, a teacher would point to revenue record screenshots on screen and passionately say: "Look at this student, just graduated one month, making wallpaper accounts earning over 300 per day, now stable daily income!" Then showing another "feedback": "This stay-at-home mom, previously had no income while caring for children, after completing the course doing short video marketing, now earning 20,000 monthly without affecting childcare!"
The teacher even catered to people from all walks of life, including examples of "female college students" and "middle-aged laid-off workers." Upon verification, all these cases were fake. Some screenshot records were photoshopped by the defendant, others were searched online. The entire live stream was not real-time interaction but pre-recorded "scenario plays."
**03 Grand Prize Has "Zero" Winning Rate**
Teachers sent welfare lottery links to students who paid, claiming "enrolled students can draw for iPhones." Course PPT pages stated "100% winning rate," with the grand prize being the latest iPhone model. Many people, already tempted by the course, finally couldn't resist the final temptation and placed orders.
Strangely, most people drew "course material packages," never seeing anyone win phones. By retrieving backend data from the lottery program, enforcement officers discovered that when setting up the prize pool, the defendant secretly set the "grand prize" winning probability to 0. In other words, that tempting iPhone was just a "pie painted on the wall" from the beginning, never possible to be claimed.
Regarding the defendant's false commercial advertising about AI course sales status and training effectiveness, and using deceptive prize-winning methods for promotional sales, Beijing Comprehensive Market Supervision Enforcement Corps, based on the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and other legal regulations, imposed an administrative penalty of 500,000 yuan fine on the defendant.
The relevant person in charge of the Eighth Brigade of Beijing Comprehensive Market Supervision Enforcement Corps reminds consumers that when consuming online, especially purchasing AI training courses, risks can be prevented and avoided from three aspects:
First, rationally view promotional cases and income promises. Do not easily believe "high-income student cases" displayed in merchant promotions. Regarding merchants' promises of high returns after taking courses, maintain clear thinking, fully recognizing that any skill improvement and income generation require time and effort investment. There are no easy profit "shortcuts," and do not be tempted by false high returns.
Second, cautiously treat lottery and other promotional methods. Facing merchants' lottery, discount, and giveaway promotional activities, proactively verify prize sales information with merchants, including prize categories, redemption conditions, prize amounts, gift specifications and quantities. Carefully read activity rules, noting whether there are vague clauses or unreasonable restrictions, avoiding consumption traps.
Third, strengthen rights protection awareness and evidence preservation. During consumption, pay attention to preserving merchants' WeChat group chat records, sales page screenshots, transaction vouchers, contract agreements and other information materials. Once discovering damage to personal rights, use valid evidence to protect legitimate rights and interests, jointly creating a healthy and orderly online consumption environment.