A man in Cixi, Zhejiang allegedly underpaid a 90-year-old shopkeeper 26 times via QR payments, losing her over 900 yuan. Police arrested him in three hours after her family reported it.
Tags:A man in eastern China allegedly exploited a 90-year-old shopkeeper’s hearing difficulties to underpay for goods 26 times in one month, paying only a few cents per purchase. He was arrested within three hours after the shopkeeper’s family reported the suspicious transactions to the police.
The case took place in Cixi, a county-level city in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, after the elderly woman’s family noticed discrepancies in the accounts of her small shop.
According to Cixi Public Security, the woman regularly heard the voice notifications produced by mobile payment systems such as WeChat Pay and Alipay. However, because she had difficulty hearing, she could not reliably verify the amounts announced by the payment notifications.
A male customer reportedly took advantage of this situation. He repeatedly visited the shop, scanned the payment code and transferred only a few cents, despite purchasing goods worth more.
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During police questioning, the suspect, surnamed Luo, admitted that the scheme began about a month earlier. On his first visit, he accidentally left out a zero when entering a payment amount. The shopkeeper heard the payment notification and assumed the transaction had been completed correctly, allowing him to leave without checking the amount received.
Luo subsequently realised that he could exploit the situation. According to his confession, he deliberately continued paying only a few cents whenever he purchased something from the shop.
Over the following month, he allegedly repeated the practice 26 times, causing losses exceeding 900 yuan (approximately US$127).
The discrepancy came to light only when the shopkeeper’s family reviewed the accounts and noticed that the payments did not match the shop’s sales. They contacted the police, prompting an investigation.
Officers from Gutang Police Station responded immediately after receiving the report. Police officer Hu Letian led a team to the shop to gather information, while officer Xu Yiqi examined the available payment records and nearby surveillance footage.
These clues helped investigators identify Luo and locate his whereabouts. He was apprehended at 9 p.m. on the same day, approximately three hours after the initial report. Police said Luo had been placed under criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law, and the case remains under investigation.
The incident has highlighted a potential vulnerability in China's cashless payment system, which is widely used by shops, restaurants and street vendors.
QR-code payments through platforms such as WeChat Pay and Alipay have made everyday transactions quick and convenient. However, a voice notification alone does not necessarily guarantee that the correct amount has been transferred.
Police reminded business owners to verify each transaction immediately, ensuring that the payment has succeeded and that the amount received matches the price of the goods. If they discover deliberate payment evasion, they should report it to the police by calling 110.
For small family-run shops, where owners may rely on trust and familiar routines, checking the actual transaction record can be particularly important.
What began as an accidental payment error allegedly became a repeated offence because the discrepancy went unnoticed. The case serves as a practical reminder that even in a highly digitalised payment environment, confirming the amount received remains an essential part of protecting a business.
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