The part-time job ad promised to pay at least 1,000 yuan ($138), with the potential for more.
After seeing the ad in August 2023, a Sichuan province native we’re calling Luo Ye decided it was worth following up on. It led him to a meeting in a stranger’s car near a subway station in Sichuan’s capital of Chengdu. The person inside told Luo that they needed to use his bank card to “process transactions” to help online streamers avoid taxes.