A man's journey into a stock scam began with a seemingly ordinary livestream on Douyin. Mr. Lin was watching a stock market analysis broadcast when a fraudster, already lurking in the stream, added him as a friend. He was then lured into a so-called "CITIC Securities Exchange Group" with over 2,000 members, falling into a carefully orchestrated "pump and dump" scheme set up by a fraudulent organization.

The group appeared highly professional, with supposed analysts calling out trades, real-time market screenshots, and members flaunting their profits, which completely disarmed him. Using convincing tactics like fake "cooperation agreements with brokerages" and "internal low-price subscription channels for new stocks," the scammers persuaded Mr. Lin to transfer a total of 300,000 yuan. When he tried to make a large withdrawal, the so-called "platform" threw up endless obstacles, citing reasons like account risk controls, the need to pay service fees, and the requirement to pay a "defrosting fee" to unlock his funds. Realizing he had been deceived, Mr. Lin immediately reported the case to the police.

According to Mr. Lin's account, someone added him on Douyin, claiming to be from the main force pushing up CITIC Securities' stock. They instructed him to observe first and consider investing later. To share more information, they asked him to add them on WeChat, where they sent a third-party link to download another chat app. After downloading it, Mr. Lin was added to a group called "CITIC Securities Exchange 337 Group," which had 2,724 members. The police later informed him that everyone else in the group was a "shill." The so-called analyst would call out trades, and the shills would post fake profit screenshots, using herd mentality to break down his guard.

Mr. Lin explained, "I watched for three or four days and thought it looked good. Then group members sent me links to download two apps. I was told to place orders through their app. When I first deposited 100,000 yuan, the payment was made to a media company, which struck me as odd. They explained it away as 'third-party management helps the main force drive the stock up.' The screenshots of 'limit-up' trades they posted daily were very real and matched live market data. I trade stocks myself and compared them, and the data matched, which is why I trusted them."

Using China Resources New Energy as an example, the group's self-proclaimed CITIC Securities chief strategist, a person named "Pi," claimed they could buy the stock at 3 yuan per share, while its IPO price was 10.11 yuan. Mr. Lin was told to deposit money to buy it. Based on fake profit charts, his initial 200,000 yuan deposit turned into 880,000 yuan, generating a paper profit of about 6.35 million yuan. The scammers then asked him to deposit another 300,000 yuan for even bigger profits. "By then, I was already suspicious, so I didn't add more money," Mr. Lin said.

To increase his trust, the group posted a photo of a contract "Pi" had signed with China Resources New Energy, showing an "internal price" of 3 yuan per share. Mr. Lin noted, "The photos had the official seals of CITIC Securities and China Resources, which turned out to be completely fake." The group claimed that CITIC Securities' main force and their own team would inject a flood of capital before July 8 to take over the shares being sold by institutional members, thus occupying the bank-securities channel. They said account procedures would be finalized after the contract ended.

"The account balance looked huge, but it was all just numbers. Every time I tried to withdraw, they refused. Only the first two small withdrawals of 2,287 yuan in total were successful, paid via a personal Alipay account," Mr. Lin said. Attempts to withdraw larger sums failed, with excuses like "improper transfer method causing a risk control freeze," "service fee must be paid before bank-securities transfer," and "new shares have been subscribed, keep the account funded."

Mr. Lin was also told his account was frozen due to a "risk control" issue and that he needed to pay 250,000 yuan as a "defrosting fee" to unlock it. He had already paid 300,000 yuan in total, including 100,000 yuan as a "service fee." The scammers claimed that securities and banking regulators forbid institutions from deducting service fees, so it had to be paid separately. They even showed him a fake "CITIC Securities Service Fee Settlement Certificate." After paying the 100,000 yuan service fee, withdrawals were still impossible. The payment for this fee was made to a Henan-based cultural media company registered in 2019. Mr. Lin has filed a police report.

The police informed Mr. Lin that such companies are essentially "collection agencies." In previous cases, the reported boss was merely a middleman collecting commissions, unaware of the final destination of the funds. To combat this, Douyin's security center has issued warnings and conducted crackdowns. Since July 2025, Douyin has banned over 800,000 accounts involved in investment fraud, advising users not to trust strangers promising "guaranteed profits" or to download unknown apps from unofficial channels.

A source close to CITIC Securities confirmed that all online content related to the "CITIC Securities Exchange Group" is false. CITIC Securities has also issued a risk warning statement, noting multiple instances of fraudsters using its logo and employee information. The company warns investors it has no such things as "institutional sub-accounts," "internal software for family members," or "private trading rooms," and urges everyone to be vigilant and avoid illegal activities.