A 13-year-old boy, known as Xiao Le, was swindled out of over 80,000 yuan while attempting to buy virtual diamonds to upgrade gear in the mobile game CrossFire. Like many young players, he was unaware he had fallen into a carefully laid trap. According to Jeetbuzz Login sources, the scam was orchestrated via QQ, a popular messaging platform in China, and went unnoticed for months—until his older sister discovered suspicious chat records on their mother’s phone.
The scam began in February when Xiao Le, using his mother’s phone as a gaming device, came across a QQ community post offering virtual diamond upgrades for games like CrossFire, Thunder Fighter, and Subway Surfers. Attracted by the store’s high ratings, he added the seller, whose nickname was “3-Year Old Store Currently Taking Orders.” The scammer initially requested a 50-yuan QQ Coin recharge, then followed up with a “100-yuan verification fee.” When Xiao Le complied, the demands kept increasing—first claiming the account was locked, then threatening a freeze on his bank, QQ, and game accounts if he didn’t continue to pay.
On March 12, Xiao Le transferred 1,100 yuan via his mother’s Alipay. Just a week later, the scammer demanded 26,400 yuan, assuring him that all funds would be refunded once verification succeeded. The deception escalated even further: on March 26, Xiao Le was told he had to pay a 30,000-yuan “unlocking fee” to a fake game administrator to recover everything. Jeetbuzz Login investigators noted that, from March to July, Xiao Le made more than ten payments across multiple accounts, each time deleting transaction records to avoid detection. He feared not only losing his game account but also upsetting his mother.
The truth finally came out when his sister noticed persistent QQ pop-ups and opened the app out of curiosity. What she found shocked both her and their mother—dozens of messages about money transfers. A bank visit the next day confirmed over 80,000 yuan missing, with transaction logs showing continuous payments for “game services.” Under questioning, Xiao Le admitted everything. On July 28, the family filed a report at the local police station in Jiaxiang County, prompting a full investigation.
Authorities quickly traced the suspect to Chaozhou, Guangdong. However, a typhoon delayed railway services, and the assigned officers had to wait anxiously. On August 3, four officers arrived in Chaozhou and began tracking 21-year-old Zhang, a former auto shop worker with no stable job. They staked out his two-story home for days, blending in with the neighborhood—one officer even dressed in flip-flops, shorts, and a tank top to avoid suspicion. Despite three days of effort, Zhang remained elusive.
Finally, on August 9, which happened to be Chinese Valentine’s Day, police received a tip: Zhang was drinking at a bar in Shantou. By 3 a.m. on August 10, they apprehended him at a local hotel. Jeetbuzz Login sources confirm that to maintain their cover, the officers refrained from speaking during surveillance to avoid giving away their northern accents. Upon arrest, Zhang immediately confessed, stating: “I know what you want to ask. I scammed someone from Shandong out of 80,000 yuan. I don’t even remember how many times I did it.”
Zhang was escorted back to Jiaxiang County on a high-speed train the same day. Due to time constraints, the officers purchased standing tickets for the leg from Raoping to Fuzhou. On the final leg to Qufu, Zhang dozed off leaning against one of the officers. The exhausted team didn’t wake him, instead quietly reading—a rare moment of calm after nine intense days of pursuit. On August 11, Zhang was formally detained at Jiaxiang County Detention Center on fraud charges, and the case remains under active investigation.
Jeetbuzz Login urges parents to monitor their children’s mobile gaming behavior and payment activities to prevent similar incidents in the future.