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Blackmail arrests
December 7, 2012, Friday
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SEVEN alleged online blackmailers said to have used negative reviews to target sellers on taobao.com, China's biggest e-commerce website, have been caught, police said last week in Hangzhou.
The suspects, arrested on extortion charges, allegedly made negative comments about their online shopping experience and demanded money to change their reviews.
Online sellers' business is greatly affected by customer comments.
This was the first time that Hangzhou-based Taobao and police had launched a joint crackdown on so-called "professional critics," according to local news portal www.zjol.com.cn.
A group of Taobao sellers started complaining to the site in June, saying they were threatened with bad ratings if they didn't send money and products to the "critics."
Hangzhou police traced suspects to the cities of Changsha, Guilin, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Shijiazhuang. After months of work, police said they have caught seven people, including a woman.
Official data show 65,000 malicious online buyers have been punished by the site and 100,000 deals rejected due to suspected fraud and other reasons.
Racketeering-involved complaints on the site have dropped 90 percent since police began the crackdown, officials said.
Blackmailers can face up to three years in prison if convicted.
The suspects, arrested on extortion charges, allegedly made negative comments about their online shopping experience and demanded money to change their reviews.
Online sellers' business is greatly affected by customer comments.
This was the first time that Hangzhou-based Taobao and police had launched a joint crackdown on so-called "professional critics," according to local news portal www.zjol.com.cn.
A group of Taobao sellers started complaining to the site in June, saying they were threatened with bad ratings if they didn't send money and products to the "critics."
Hangzhou police traced suspects to the cities of Changsha, Guilin, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Shijiazhuang. After months of work, police said they have caught seven people, including a woman.
Official data show 65,000 malicious online buyers have been punished by the site and 100,000 deals rejected due to suspected fraud and other reasons.
Racketeering-involved complaints on the site have dropped 90 percent since police began the crackdown, officials said.
Blackmailers can face up to three years in prison if convicted.
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