100-yuan "cruise diamond card" is still for sale on xianyu
2024-09-24
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on september 23, some people were still selling "cruise memberships" on xianyu. screenshot of the xianyu app
screenshots of the police collecting evidence from a certain platform. photo courtesy of shanghai baoshan police
screenshots of the police collecting evidence. photo courtesy of shanghai baoshan police
on september 23, the baoshan police in shanghai disclosed that in the "sharp sword 2024" series of special operations, three "black intermediaries" who illegally obtained cruise company membership services were arrested in succession.
at the end of august 2024, the baoshan police in shanghai received a report from an international cruise company that the company had recently received a surge in membership applications, of which more than 70% did not meet the requirements and had been returned, and were suspected to be false applications. according to preliminary statistics, huang and three others illegally sold more than 2,000 fake cruise diamond cards on online shops, involving a total amount of more than 200,000 yuan, of which more than 1,500 membership applications failed to actually enjoy the corresponding membership services.
"global membership benefits", "100% registration availability", "direct club membership"... as long as you spend a few hundred yuan online, you can apply for cruise diamond membership, and enjoy a series of value-added services such as priority boarding, shopping discounts and dining gifts. however, people do not know that this kind of "low-priced membership" has no rights protection at all.
on september 23, the reporter searched and found that there were still many people selling "cruise diamond cards" on xianyu, with prices ranging from 50 yuan to 300 yuan. the page content claimed that guests could bring their companions to board and disembark the ship first, receive free sparkling wine, macarons, chocolates, free bath towels and slippers, and attend exclusive parties.
the reporter noticed that many bloggers posted "reminder posts" saying that the cruise diamond cards sold online recently "had problems". after boarding the ship, the ship did not recognize their "diamond identity", and the bloggers failed to contact the sellers for a refund.
case
three people registered members for “zero cost” and sold fake cruise diamond cards online
"after we received the alarm, we checked the company's recent voyage service information and found that there was a significant abnormal increase in the proportion of people boarding the ship with cruise diamond card members, and the number of backend applications was also increasing." the police officer in charge of the case from the baoshan branch told reporters that since such senior members will enjoy value-added services including a buffet worth 350 yuan per person and other priority and discount rights, if the situation is not clarified in time, it is likely to reduce the quality of the cruise company's member services, cause economic losses to the cruise company, and affect the normal sailing order.
the police investigation found that the cruise company's membership registration methods are mainly divided into two types: one is to automatically upgrade the membership level through mileage accumulation, and the other is to match and directly obtain cruise membership qualifications through top members of high-end international hotel chains, which requires manual review and screening. the task force sorted out and classified the massive amount of member information, and at the same time screened and traced applicants suspected of falsifying registration materials.
"after checking the capital chain and the application end, we gradually found out a number of online stores that claimed to be able to provide 'cruise membership agency services'. these stores used the gimmicks of 'global universal membership rights', '100% availability of registration', and 'direct club membership' to attract customers. the application price of a single membership card ranged from 88 yuan to 188 yuan, and they promised that after paying, one only needed to provide basic personal information to obtain membership within one to three weeks. this is obviously inconsistent with the official registration process, and the online stores are registered in many places across the country, so there is the possibility of false registration." the police officer in charge of the case introduced to reporters.
baoshan police then launched a meticulous investigation into the relevant online stores and their actual operators, identifying huang and three others, and arrested them in shanghai, hubei and other places.
huang and the other three were all born in the 1990s and had legitimate jobs. according to huang and the others, they took advantage of the "information gap" that consumers were not familiar with the membership application process and thought they could seek a "way to get rich" by falsifying application materials.
since january this year, they have been registering members at "zero cost" by forging application materials, thereby earning a large amount of registration fees. according to preliminary statistics, huang and three others have illegally sold more than 2,000 fake cruise diamond cards on online shops, involving a total amount of more than 200,000 yuan, of which more than 1,500 membership applications failed to actually enjoy the corresponding membership services.
at present, huang and three other suspects have been taken criminal compulsory measures by baoshan police for suspected fraud, and the case is under further trial. while cracking the case, baoshan police have also worked with relevant cruise companies to screen and cancel the diamond membership qualifications involved in the case, and instructed relevant e-commerce platforms to block and remove more than 120 related online stores.
investigation
the "cruise diamond card" is still on sale, and some people are still guiding tourists to "take advantage of it"
on september 23, the reporter searched the e-commerce platform and found that there are still many "cruise diamond cards" on xianyu, with prices ranging from 50 yuan to 300 yuan. the page content claims that guests can bring their companions to board and disembark the ship first, receive free sparkling wine, macarons, chocolates, free bath towels and slippers, and attend exclusive parties.
the reporter contacted several sellers, and they all said that "it is not applicable to routes departing from the mainland, but only to overseas routes." one seller said that because the shipowner has strengthened the member review of the originating routes, there have been a large number of return orders, so they are not selling now to avoid the limelight. the seller suggested that the reporter try again in 2025, and said that it will be fine after the "limelight" has passed.
on april 1 this year, msc cruises announced on its official account that recently a large number of e-commerce platforms have seen the phenomenon of obtaining membership of the mediterranean voyagers club through false membership matching. this behavior has infringed the company's legitimate rights and interests and also damaged the rights and interests of other members who obtained membership through official channels.
in addition, the reporter also found many "teaching posts" on some social platforms, "guiding" tourists on how to spend the least money to buy memberships to "get the best deal". for example, a blogger on the xiaohongshu platform said that he bought an msc diamond card through xianyu and successfully enjoyed the benefits on the ship, including priority boarding and disembarking and free restaurant experience. the blogger also complained that because there are too many diamond cards recently, some benefits have been reduced, which is reflected in snacks, sparkling wine, bathrobes and other content.
while teaching how to "get the freebies", the reporter also noticed that many bloggers have posted "reminder posts" saying that there are "problems" with the recent online sales of cruise diamond cards. after boarding the ship, the ship does not recognize their "diamond status", and the bloggers have been unsuccessful in contacting the sellers for a refund.
■ reminder
the shanghai police reminded that "consumers who register for cruise membership should pay attention to the official website process information, be wary of 'low price traps' and so-called 'internal channels', and avoid personal information leakage and property loss."
