On July 4th, veteran mainland Chinese actor Zhu Shimao posted a video claiming to have fallen victim to two scams in a single day, one of which resulted in him being swindled out of 2,000 yuan. Ironically, earlier this month, Zhu Shimao was appointed as an “anti-fraud ambassador” by the popular social media platform “Douyin.”
In the video, Zhu Shimao explained that he received a call from an acquaintance who claimed that their nephew was getting married and needed cash urgently. Feeling sympathetic, Zhu lent the individual 2,000 yuan as requested.
Shortly after, someone under the username “Liu Jinshan,” claiming to be an old acquaintance, requested to connect on WeChat. After adding him on WeChat, “Liu Jinshan” said he was filming in Hulunbuir and sent a QR code asking Zhu Shimao to transfer 5,000 yuan. The fact that “Liu Jinshan” referred to Zhu Shimao as “brother” raised suspicions, prompting Zhu to call and confirm with the real Liu Jinshan, only to discover that he had indeed encountered a scam.
Zhu Shimao revealed that upon investigating the person who borrowed 2,000 yuan, he found that the individual’s personal information was linked to the same person as “Liu Jinshan,” indicating that the same fraudster had used two different identities to borrow money.
Ironically, on June 10th, Zhu Shimao was appointed as an “anti-fraud ambassador” by “Douyin” during an event held in Beijing aimed at combating scams.
“I am still an anti-fraud ambassador. I thought I couldn’t be fooled, but sometimes fraudsters catch you off guard. In situations like this, don’t be too trusting. When it comes to money matters, always stay cautious,” Zhu Shimao emphasized.
Zhu Shimao, aged 71, gained fame for his role as Xu Lingjun in the 1981 movie “The Horse Thief,” which set a record of 120 million viewers. He became one of China’s first-generation idol male stars. Subsequently, Zhu Shimao and Chen Peisi collaborated on numerous sketches featured on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. However, the China International Television Corporation, a subsidiary of CCTV, released VCDs of their performances without permission.
In 2000, Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao sued the company, leading to a court ruling demanding that the China International Television Corporation immediately stop infringement, issue a public apology, and compensate the duo for economic losses totaling 333,293 yuan. Since then, Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao have been banned by CCTV.
During an interview in 2004, Chen Peisi disclosed that the China International Television Corporation, a CCTV affiliate, continued to infringe on their rights and refused to comply with the court’s verdict, rendering the compensation of 330,000 yuan unrecoverable. Regarding the CCTV ban, Chen Peisi expressed that they foresaw such consequences before taking legal action against CCTV. Under the control of the “mother” figure at CCTV, who constantly manipulates the public with lies, netizens have labeled CCTV as the ultimate fraudster.