The Beijing authorities swiftly cracked down on tour agencies that baited tourists with very low rates and then forced them to pay extras or purchase overpriced items on the trips. Has this problem been solved. Reporters followed up on this. Most of the touts seemed to have vanished from the Wang Fujing area during most of the day, but they started appearing later in the afternoon. One woman from a seemingly legitimate agency warned tourists not to be tricked by the touts. She assured the secretly recording reporter that her company would never employ any of the underhand tactics used by the fake tour guides.
That company charged only 100 yuan. The undercover reporter paid up and joined the day trip.
As it turned out, this company used very similar and familiar tactics. The extortion began. +160 yuan. Pay up, or else. Then it’s the same jade shop tour. Same performance, same script. Probably the same gang. And I suspect that some of the members of the group could have been embedded to take the lead in paying the extra 160 yuan and buying the jade. Why are these shops still around after they have been reported? Investigative and prosecution costs too high and too complicated?
The second part of the video deals with an antique verification or appraisal service. Many owners of antiques have brought their items for verification. They were given very high evaluations and paid handsomely for the company to exhibit and sell their items. I have covered this scam here.
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