Shanxi woman Lan Xiaohong had her Alipay account balance of 1.847 million yuan split into 6 transfers in the middle of the night, under the guise of “charitable donations”, just 2 days after she closed the Alipay payment function. Her unsuccessful attempts at seeking justice for three years have triggered widespread doubts across the internet.
According to the Huashang Daily News report on May 14, Lan Xiaohong recently shared with the media her experience of closing the payment function of her Alipay account for 2 days, during which nearly 1.847 million yuan was transferred in full to three charitable organizations.
Lan Xiaohong explained that on October 19, 2023, she found that her Alipay account had been logged out by someone else. Concerned about the safety of her funds, she contacted Alipay customer service to close the account’s payment function. After waking up on the morning of October 21, she discovered that all the funds in her account had been transferred away between 3:00 am and 7:00 am on the same day.
The Alipay electronic customer statement she retrieved showed that the 6 transfers were made at different times to three recipients: the China Siyuan Engineering Foundation received 5 yuan at 3:37 am, the China Rural Development Foundation received 1000 yuan at 3:38 am, and the China Rural Development Foundation received a significant sum of 1.84 million yuan at 3:40 am. At 3:41 am, 5828.4 yuan was transferred to the China Rural Development Foundation and the remaining transfers of 102.6 yuan and 30 yuan were made to the Guizhou Charity Association at 5:08 am and 7:01 am respectively.
Lan Xiaohong mentioned that the money involved came from operating multiple Taobao stores with friends, including revolving capital from credit card use, loans from relatives and friends, and funds temporarily managed for friends. Since the incident, she has been unable to seek justice and is burdened with heavy debts.
A report from The Paper on May 14 stated that Alipay staff mentioned that the progress of handling this matter has been communicated with Lan Xiaohong.
According to a document obtained by The Paper, Alipay personnel mentioned that since receiving feedback from Lan Xiaohong in 2023, they have dealt with it multiple times and ultimately advised Lan Xiaohong to resolve the issue through the judicial department. As for the reason for the “strange donation”, it will be passed on to authorized managers for verification.
The document from the China Rural Development Foundation obtained exclusively by The Paper indicated that the 1.84 million yuan had been used for the “Donate One Yuan Charity Nutrient Event” and had been fully implemented. The Foundation is willing to verify upon receiving complete official supporting materials and confirm if it meets the conditions for handling refunds.
On May 14, a representative from the Foundation told The Paper that after verifying with Alipay, the company responded that the 1.84 million yuan donation was a normal transaction.
Following the event, Lan contacted Alipay’s customer service immediately but did not receive a resolution. She subsequently reported the Alipay-related issues to the Shanghai branch of the People’s Bank of China. On February 27, 2025, she finally received a “Reply Letter on Reporting” document.
The letter mentioned that out of the 6 transactions, 5 were completed using a computer verification payment password, while the remaining 1 transaction was completed using a mobile phone. The payment process involved the customer selecting “Add Bank Card Payment”, entering the bank cardholder’s name, ID number, and other information, verifying the SMS code sent by the bank, and successfully completing the Alipay face recognition verification to finish the payment.
Lan stated that she did not have the bank card mentioned in the document and was asleep at the time, making it impossible for her to conduct the payment through face recognition.
The letter also addressed the issue of Alipay still being able to make payments even after closing the payment function. The branch found that Alipay had not promptly disclosed the service characteristics to consumers, violating relevant regulations, and had requested Alipay to optimize and improve payment services.
Alipay staff mentioned that they conducted an investigation on the platform and claimed that Lan had disclosed her account information herself. They also contacted the police, suspecting that the funds in Lan’s account were related to illicit activities.
In order to verify Alipay’s statement, the reporter contacted the police at the West City Police Station of Yancheng Salt Lake Branch, but did not receive a response.
The reporter explained Lan’s situation of having her personal funds stolen to the police. The police stated that the individual involved would need to come to the police station themselves to understand the situation. They also mentioned that if it was a reporter’s inquiry, they would need to accompany Lan as well. The police were asked why there was no progress in filing a case after two reports and whether it was necessary to visit the police station now, to which they replied that they had not heard of Lan’s case. When the reporter offered to provide the contact information of the police handling the case, the police officer hung up the phone directly.
On May 14, the topic labelled “Having 1.84 million deducted as charity after closing Alipay payment function” trended on Weibo and Baidu hot searches.
Digital reviewer and Weibo influencer “Xi Xi Ben XI” posted, expressing concern about the situation, questioning the platform’s security promises and advising users to stay vigilant about their accounts.
Digital blogger and Weibo influencer “Technology Dog Egg” criticized the handling of the situation by Alipay, highlighting the security risks and the lack of accountability.
Digital reviewer, documentary filmmaker, and Weibo influencer “Chi Shi” raised concerns about the loopholes in public charity deductions and called for a thorough investigation to hold responsible parties accountable.
Digital reviewer, internet analyst, and Weibo influencer “MarkGet” condemned the situation, emphasizing the importance of protecting user funds and demanded a clear investigation to address the issues at hand, rather than shifting blame onto users.
In conclusion, the incident involving Lan Xiaohong’s funds being transferred without authorization following the closure of her Alipay payment function has raised significant concerns about user data security and the accountability of online platforms. The call for a thorough investigation and transparency in handling such cases serves as a reminder for all users to remain vigilant and proactive in safeguarding their financial information and transactions.